Once Upon A New York Time
by InsaneWriter
Summary: “So where’s your fiancée?” The lead singer had almost forgotten that he was engaged. “Oh you mean Case- I mean, Kendra.”Ralph had to double take that one. “What!” “You were gonna say Casey weren’t you?” Sam taunted him in amusement.
1. Daily Routine Ruined

**A/N: Okay seriously, I just thought of this. Leave lot's of reviews and I'll continue!**

**Summary: A Rockstar and a Ballet teacher. Will opposites attract or will they bring all of New York to a stand still? Find out in "Once Upon A New York Time".**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot.**

**NO FLAMES!**

**AAA**

Dancing has always been an outlet for her, a passion. If there's one thing in her life that hasn't disappointed her it would be dance. She studied into the art of ballet and that's when she fell in love… Her years of hard work and perseverance paid off and she became a well known Ballet instructor. She has her own studio in the large city of New York.

Casey McDonald's daily routine; She woke up at six AM sharp, her feet swung over the edge of her comfy soft twin bed, as she stretched and yawned. Instinctively she slipped on her pink slippers, stood and walked a couple feet to her fairly large bathroom. Her whole apartment was very modern and in a nicer part of New York. She hopped in the tub and showered well, dried her long silky brown hair and styled it in a simple bun. She then brushed her white pearly teeth and flossed. After all that was done, she walked over to her closet slipped on some tights, a black leotard and pink leg warmers in that order. Then she would slip on a skirt, blouse and warm jacket to prepare for the winter cold outside. Her keys, black ballet bag and coach purse were always hung on the hanger rack by the door, she would grab those essentials and head out of her apartment building on to the busy streets of the busy city to catch a cab. The cab took her to one of the less busy streets of New York where her studio was. She always arrived an hour early before class to warm up.

That was her everyday routine until…

Casey closed the door to the taxi and stood in front of her apartment building. She heaved a sigh and walked in. She pressed the button to the elevator, waited a few seconds before the door opened and walked in. She was on the 5th floor and when the doors parted she walked over to her door, 510 and was taken by complete surprise. There was water everywhere! She screamed as she walked into the shin deep water, wondering how this had happened. She walked into the kitchen and saw a waterfall underneath her sink. The carpet, the furniture, everything on the floor was ruined. She walked into her bedroom and her bed was floating! She pulled out her cellphone and called her land lord, Misses Delilah Lilac- yeah weird name- and she came storming up to the 5th floor. By that time Casey was a panicked mess and Delilah had to calm her down only to upset her again by saying, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Mcdonald, but you're going to have to find another place while I repair this apartment." The mid-aged woman with dark blond hair had turned off the water by then.

"Oh my God, are you serious?!" Casey exclaimed pacing through the water very agitated. "I have no where else to go! My parents live in Canada!"

Delilah crossed her arms calmly and said, "You must have some kind of friend or relative that live here in the 'Big Apple'."

Right when she had said that, Casey had a disappointed, depressed look on her lovely features. She inhaled and exhaled trying to calm those nerves of hers.

"Am I right?" Delilah asked.

Casey took another short breathe before saying, "Derek…"

Shortly after Madame Delilah Lilac left, Casey sat down on her kitchen counter since all her other seating options were currently submerged in water. She stared at her cellphone in her hand for the longest time before finally dialing a number. She put the phone to her ear and it rang a few times before she heard a 'click'.

"Hello?" The voice sounded annoyed.

"Hey, guess who this is," Casey tried to sound positive but it just wasn't working for her.

There was a long pause before he replied, "I'm gonna take a wild guess… Casey?"

She rolled her eyes-not that he could see them- and answered, "Yeah, you're not busy are you?"

"Well, I'm kinda in the middle of something," he had that sly tone in his voice.

Casey cringed in disgust as she thought, _Ewww… Grose he's fucking. _She quickly apologized and asked what he was up to.

"Case, cut the crap, what do you want?" He said, obviously eager to get back to his previous activities.

She jumped down from the counter forgetting about the water and splashed herself. She ignored the fact that she was wet and responded, "Look, my apartment- as of today- is flooded and I'm going to need a place to stay for a few weeks and since you're here in New York"

"You wanted to know if you can crash at my place," He interrupted her rudely.

She hesitantly replied, "Yes."

"Hmmm…" He said sarcastically. "Let me think about it." He then hung up on her.

Casey gasped, although she really didn't know why she was so surprised. She should have known he would still be the same Derek Venturi, Rockstar or not. But seriously, they were now in their late twenties and he still acted like an immature teenager.

A few minutes passed before her cellphone rang again, she answered it and heard the comforting voice of her mother Nora.

"Mom, thank God, I have had the worst day," Casey said as tears welled up in her eyes.

"What happened, Sweetie?" Nora asked concernly.

"Well, my apartment is flooded and I have no place to stay," She sat back down on the counter.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry… Wait a minute… Isn't Derek there?" Nora asked.

Casey replied, "Well, yeah, but come on, mom, get real, do you really think he's going to let me stay at his place?"

"Did you ask him?"

"Yeah, he said he'd think about it," Casey said with a sigh.

"Derek, may be a lot of things, but uncompassionate isn't one of them," Nora stated.

Casey nodded and mumbled, "I'd beg to differ." Just then her phone beeped notifying her of another call. "Let me call you back, mom." She answered the other line and low and behold it was Derek.

"Okay, as much as I would love to leave you homeless I know I can't," he stated without preliminaries.

"So you grew a heart these past few years," Casey said in sarcasm.

"No, I'm doing this because of my dad and your mom," He said firmly. "If you're going to stay at my humble abode there are going to be a few rules you have to follow."

She slumped down, "What are they?" She asked very mono toned.

"We'll review them when you get here, you still have my address right?" He asked not really concerned if she found his apartment building or not.

"Yeah, my mom gave it to me just in case of emergencies," she replied kicking the water below her.

"Alright then, oh yeah and take your time getting here," He again hung up on her.

_What a self-centered asshole, _Casey thought not at all amazed by his lack of etiquette. Again she hopped down from the counter, walked into her room and packed some dry clothes to bring. As soon as she was finished packing her three luggage bags she headed back down and called a taxi. Threw three of her huge suitcases into the trunk and kept her purse with her, gave the Caucasian taxi driver the address and sat back for the thirty minute ride.

Casey sat in the back seat just gazing out the window; she began to think about how herself and Derek never got along. Then her thoughts were interrupted by the driver.

"I recognize the address you gave me."

Casey wanted to say, _who wouldn't? _But refrained from the sarcastic remark, instead she said, "Really?"

The blond haired guy in his thirties nodded. "Did you know a Rockstar lives in that building?"

"No, I didn't," she lied.

"Must be nice to be him, Derek Venturi, that's his name," said the driver. "He was in this band called D'rock for like five or six years, then he decided to go solo. I think his band mates quit on him or something."

Casey sighed but politely continued to listen to the man ramble on.

"I-personally-think that he's better solo," he glanced back at Casey. "But I'd bet a lady like yourself doesn't listen to the type of music he makes, right?"

She replied, "I like a wide variety of genres, but I haven't heard his music, I'll admit."

"I like the last song he released 'bleeding sex', that song totally blew my eardrums out," said the driver with much enthusiasm.

Casey almost laughed, but held it in. "I'm sure it would blow anyone's socks off," she commented. "You must be a big fan of Derek Venturi to know that much about him."

"Well… I wouldn't say big fan, I just know my Rockstars'."

From that point on through the drive, Casey had to listen to a variety of rock music in the cab, one of the songs being 'bleeding sex', by Derek Venturi.

The twenty minutes that went by seemed like a lifetime for Casey. The car came to a rough stop; the young ballet teacher paid the man, stepped out, gathered her suitcases and just stood in front of the tall, fancy apartment building. It didn't take her long to realize that his apartment building was so much nicer than hers and that kind of bugged her.

Casey doddled her way in to the lobby and up to the desk, where a middle-aged African American stood with a smile, "How can I help you?" He asked politely.

She glanced at his name tag and replied, "Well… Mister Eduardo, I'm here to see Derek Venturi."

"I see," The man seemed hesitant. "Let me ring his room."

Casey stood there patiently as the man picked up the ear piece to the phone, dialed a few numbers in and said, "Hello, Mister Venturi, you have a visitor." All she could hear from where she was standing was a muffled reply and then a 'click'.

"He's apparently expecting you, Miss…"

"Oh, Mcdonald, Casey Mcdonald," She said as they shook hands.

"Unfortunately, all of my bell boys have gone home, since it is considerably late."

As Eduardo was saying that, Casey held in a yawn. "Yes, I know."

"It looks as if I'll have to escort you up to, Mister Venturi's apartment."

The man in a black suit grabbed two of her suitcases as she carried one and her purse and headed over to the elevator.

The inside of the elevator was all metallic; Casey could see her tired reflection everywhere. _What floor does this guy live on? _She thought as she watched the numbers go by. Finally the elevator stopped at fifty-four which might as well be the top of the building since it was second to the last floor.

Eduardo lead her to apartment 5427 and rang the door bell, just as that action took place the black door flew open and out came these two busty and leggy blondes. They glared at Casey before continuing to the elevator. Shortly after, a brown-haired young man, wearing nothing but a silk bath robe walked up to them.

"Casey, how long has it been?" He said not at all enthusiastic.

"Not long enough," she faked a smile. He was letting her stay there, temporarily, it was the least she could do.

"Still doing that dance thing?" he asked.

She replied, "As a matter of fact, yes, I'm a ballet instructor. I have my own studio."

Derek looked at Eduardo and said, "Thanks Ed, I'll take it from here."

"Very well, sir." Before he stepped in to the elevator he said, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Mcdonald."

"Likewise," Casey smiled softly at the man. She looked back at Derek and caught him staring at her. "What?" She asked, a boggled expression was upon her features.

"Take your bags and come in," Derek walked away leaving the door open for her.

Again with the doddling she followed him through his messy apartment. _Same ol' Derek, _She thought. "God, Derek, don't you have a maid?" She couldn't help but to comment on his hygiene.

"Of course, she comes in the morning," he replied as he quickly gave her a tour of the penthouse.

They passed the living room, his award room, his bedroom the kitchen, then finally they came to the guest room which was now her room. She had to admit it was very nice, had a sort of jungle tropic theme to it and was the only clean room of the apartment.

"I very rarely have visitors I don't sleep with," he said with that trade mark smirk of his on his handsome features.

Casey gave a short sigh. "Thank's for the info," She dropped her bags and sat on the queen size bed. Ewww… It was too firm.

"Oh yeah and about those rules, there's only one. Don't get in my way and I won't get in your way," he said seriously.

Casey being too tired to comment just nodded.

Derek smirked again. "Same ol' Casey," he then walked out closing her door.

Sighing deeply, Casey thought in sarcasm, _this is gonna be fun…_


	2. Adjusting to Change

**A/N: Second Chapter is up. Now you can review more! I also would like to thank everyone who took the time to review. Much love to you all! :D Anyway, Enjoy!**

**AAA**

'Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep…' Casey awoke to the alarm clock which was programmed on her phone and she didn't feel rested at all, not even close. She had a hard time falling asleep on that poor excuse for a bed. She stood up and stretched out her stiff muscles, then she looked at the clock at her bedside table it read six o' clock. Great she would barely have half an hour to warm up before class, still she tried to think positive. She tried to stay loyal to her morning routine, but found herself just getting frustrated. Okay, she had to admit she wasn't very good at adjusting to change. Time had passed and it was already seven o' clock, she should be down trying to catch a cab by then, but she was still in her room fixing her hair and rummaging through her suitcases to find her ballet clothes and clothes to go over them. She had no choice but to do a half ass job of her hair and make-up, then she rushed out to the elevator, down to the lobby. As she made her hurried way out managed to bid Mister Eduardo good-bye and whistled for a taxi. In a matter of a few minutes a yellow car pulled up to her and she hopped in. She told the driver an address and the car pulled away from the curb with the screech of the tires.

_Oh God, my head… Man, I drank too much last night. Had a horrible nightmare too, _Derek thought as he lazily stood out of bed. He walked out to the clean kitchen. _Looks like the maid came. _He opened a cabinet by the stainless steel fridge and took out a box of cereal, then he opened the stainless steel dishwasher and retrieved a bowl and a spoon. _Last gourmet ingredient, _He opened the fridge. _Milk, _he poured some cereal and milk into the bowl and began to eat it clumsily. _Wonder what's on the tube, _he walked into his living room where his nice comfy leather furniture was and sat down. There was a digital remote half the size of a lap top that turned on the television, but he obviously had the hang of it for he was just flipping through random channels when finally he came to MTV and saw his latest music video playing. _Ooo… Me TV, _He thought as he crunched on some more Captain Crunch cereal. _God, Can't stop thinking about that dream, it felt so real, _He thought tuning out the TV for a moment. He then had a very puzzled look on his face. _No… It couldn't be… I couldn't have… Did I? _He put the bowl down on his glass coffee table and made his way to the guest room. _Please don't let it be true, please don't let it be true, please don't let it be true, _He slowly opened the door to the room and saw the most horrible thing in the world; Casey's suitcases. _Oh God, what did I get myself into?_

Meanwhile Casey was at her studio giving private lessons to a young girl named, Monica. She had dark skin and curly brown hair, and was dressed in a pink tights, a leotard and ballet slippers. They were working on Releve's, which was just basically rising off the floor to your toes. They had already done an intense thirty minute lesson together they were just cooling down.

"You're progressing very well, Monica," Casey complimented the nine year old girl as they sat on the dance floor waiting for the young girl's mother to pick her up.

"Thanks, Miss Mcdonald," She said politely as she took off her ballet shoes and put on some sneakers. "Do you think I'll be ready for the recital in December?"

Casey smiled and assured her, "I think you'll be more than ready."

There was a short silence before Monica said, "You look tired Miss Mcdonald, more than usual."

"I didn't get enough sleep last night."

"Why?" The innocent young girl just gazed in to Casey's cobalt eyes in concern.

"You really wanna know?" She scooted closer to Monica.

The girl nodded eagerly.

So Casey explained everything in the simplest way a nine year old could understand. From the lake in her apartment to the rock she had to sleep on the previous night, oh yeah and not to mention Derek and his lack of manners.

After the ballet instructor was done talking Monica just stared at her for a moment or two. Casey laughed and said, "I know… Trust me."

"And I thought losing a tooth was hard," Monica muttered.

Casey laughed as the little girl giggled also.

"You're a good little friend Monica," Casey said with a smile.

"I know," She glanced at the studio door and saw her mother waiting outside on her cellphone. "Well, my mom's here, I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Mcdonald."

Casey bid her good-bye and stood up, it was only four o' clock and her last student of the day couldn't make so she decided to work on the choreography for the play in December. It was being sponsored by the thirty something parents that have paid for their kid to take lessons from her. She was nervous about pleasing the parents, and hoped that she wouldn't lose any students but gain more. She stood in front of the mirror and began to put ballet dance steps together, expressing her emotions through her body. Nervousness was expressed, frustration, anger and then she calmed down. He whole body covered with sweat, she laid on the floor of her studio to catch her breathe. _What did I get myself into?_

The door to Derek's apartment opened and he heard it. He just continued to get himself ready for the 'social gathering' he was having. He sprayed on some cologne and growled at himself in the mirror. He then made his way into the kitchen and bumped in to Casey.

"Sorry, just getting a bottle of water," She said not all that sincere. Before she could walk out into the hallway Derek stopped her by grabbing her wrist. "What?" she said in annoyance.

"Those are for the guests," He said fixing the cuffs of his dark blue collar shirt.

"What guests?" She asked in dread.

"I'm having a little get-together tonight," He replied walking to the bar area which was in the living room.

Casey followed. "You got to be fucking kidding me," she was obviously pissed off. "Unlike some people, I have to be up early in the morning, I have work."

"Oh boo-hoo… Don't worry I'll try to muffle the pleasured cries a little," he grinned slyly at her.

She glared at him and as she poked him said, "Something's never change."

"What's wrong, **sis**, don't tell me you already want to leave," he stepped closer to her.

"I'm not gonna make it that easy," she gazed at him with fire in her eyes, stormed off to her room and slammed the door.

An hour or two passed as Casey laid in bed tossing and turning not only because that it felt like she was laying on a stone mattress, but because all she heard was loud music, squeaking of-she was guessing Derek's-bed, and female moans mixed with laughter. _Stay calm, just stay calm, don't do anything stupid, Casey Mcdonald, just try to fall asleep. _The moans got louder.

"Oh yeah, baby, faster!"

"You like that don't you?" she heard Derek say.

"Oh yes, Fuck me!"

_Oh hell no, fuck this. _She had enough of this, it was almost midnight and she was in need of some sleep and fast. Casey got out of bed and made her way up to Derek's door, then she began to bang on it non-stop. The banging went on for a few minutes before it flew open and out stepped Derek in his silk robe.

"What do you want?" He said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, if only you could hear how loud you're being," she said just as angry. "I thought you would have developed some respect by now."

"Respect… For you? HA!" He said crossing his arms.

Her eyes narrowed as the anger grew inside of her. "You know what? That's it…" She pushed him aside and walked in to Derek's room with her hand over her face she did not want to see naked bodies. "Okay, whatever your name is, party is over. I'm trying to sleep, because I have work in the morning so get the fuck out!"

She saw glimpses of the woman getting dressed and hurriedly rushed out of the apartment. Derek just stared at Casey in her purple flannel pajamas and pink slippers. He was almost in shock.

"You're going to pay for that," he said obviously trying to stay calm.

"Bring it, **bro**," She said right in his face, she then walked back to her room, slammed the door and hopped back into bed. _Finally, some peace and quiet…_

Suddenly she heard blaring music from his room which was right next to hers; she was so startled by it that she fell off the bed. She stood up quickly and stormed back over to his room. 'Bang, Bang, Bang…'

"Der-ek, you are so inconsiderate!" She exclaimed through the music. "Lower that goddamn ruckus you call music!"

He opened the door and stepped out in front of her. "When did Casey Mcdonald become such a potty mouth?" He mused crossing his arms.

Casey rolled her eyes, the music was lower but she was sure she could still hear it in her room. She absolutely hated that he still knew how to get under her skin.

"Remember the house rule?" He said backing her into the wall. "You stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours?" He raised his voice, "Well, you broke the rule! Now, you're paying the consequence!"

She gazed up at him with her piercing blue eyes and backed him up against his door saying, "God, everything **has **to be your way, right? Your house, your rules am I right? Well I am sick of your bullshit! I'm sick of being pushed around by you! I've had it! Either you turn off that fucking stereo of yours or I'm throwing it out the window!" _Man, I am a potty mouth… But he just pushes my buttons… _She thought angrily.

Derek stared at her long enough to realize that she was serious. "Wow, Case, that was the first time you stood up to me like that," he said almost as if he were proud of her.

Casey sighed calming herself down. "Are you going to let me sleep?"

He nodded and murmured, "Yeah."

"Thank you," she said in relief and made her way back to her bedroom. She hopped back in to bed and heard the music turn off. It stayed quiet through out the rest of the night. _I think I finally got through to him…_


	3. A Bad Day

**A/N: So thanks for the reviews again! I plan on making this story a Dasey. I thought I would just take it slow for once, you know, build suspense. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter. I worked real hard on it.**

**AAA**

Casey went to work the following morning and knew that she would have to choreograph the rest of the dance for the recital. She had to teach it to her students the next week. She had been working on it for the past month, but she was having trouble with the ending. She felt that it wasn't strong enough. At the end of her work day she stayed an extra hour to try and finish the choreography. _Maybe I should end it with a jete, _She thought as she paced in front of the mirror. _No, that's not solid enough. _She was so frustrated that she finally just gave up. _If I don't finish this dance piece my whole reputation could be ruined. _She thought as she gathered her things and walked out of the studio.

Meanwhile, Derek sat in the recording studio with his guitar singing and playing a song he had been working on for the passed month.

Derek plays an up beat strum to these lyrics

Take your opinions and shove them down your throat  
Bleed  
Rot  
Gag until you choke  
following the path that will lead to your demise  
Do you need more black and blues to open up your eyes?  
Ripped and torn to pieces screaming out your name  
As the dictators walk by and puts you to shame  
Open your mouth and pour out pathetic souls  
Walking across the fire with bare feet on hot coals  
Take your pride  
Take your shame  
Take your useless cries  
Put it in a bottle and throw it to the skies  
Watch it fall and land, broken open on the ground  
Look how much the gods care at your feeble handmade crown  
Shut up  
Walk away  
Hang your head like a child  
Waste all our time and make this journey so worthwhile  
Give me the keys and I'll drive far away  
Just promise me you'll lay here until you die today

(**A/N: Found this poem on the internet and thought it would make a good rock song. It's by user Zeek****)**

As soon as he was done, a dark haired young man entered the sound proof booth and said, "Derek, the song is great but…"

Derek sat there on the black stool and asked, "What's wrong, Max?"

"I'm just not feeling the lyrics. Bleeding sex didn't even make top ten on the charts, I have a feeling this one won't either," The producer said firmly.

The Rockstar just rolled his eyes. "So what do you want me to do then?"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, buddy, but a lot of your fans want a ballad from you. It seems they're tired of your angry music," Max crossed his arms. He was wearing a pair of black slacks, a nice maroon dress shirt with a jacket over it and some dress shoes.

"But you know I don't do Ballads," Derek began. "Ballads lead to tears and I don't do tears," He said stubbornly.

"Well you're going to have to," Max said as he began his way out but Derek stopped him.

"Wait, man… What're you saying?"

Max turned and looked at him. "I'm saying if you want to keep on making music or better yet, making money, you'd better write the ballad."

"You wouldn't stop being my producer, dude, we're friends," Derek said smiling at his high school buddy.

Max turned around and as he walked out said, "Business before friendship, Derek."

The rock star's grin quickly faded at hearing those words. _Fuck, how the hell do I go about writing a ballad? _The punk rocker asked himself. He put his guitar in its case and walked out of the studio.

The studio was a part of a huge multi level building which was Maxwell Miller's. He was as big as they come. It was because of Miller productions that Derek made it big with his music. And now Miller productions were screwing the rock star over.

Derek decided that he needed to clear his head and he knew how to do just that…

For the first time ever Casey was alone in the apartment which really, she didn't mind. She had her pink valor sweat pants on and a fitted t-shirt as she sat in front of the huge plasma television on the wall. She was trying to figure out how to change the channel on the damned thing. _Why does he need all these buttons? _She thought as she just pressed a random button on the digital controller. Suddenly the blinds opened and she saw an amazing view of the city. _Whoa… Cool… _She smiled. She then pressed another button and the blinds closed, lights dimmed, fireplace turned on and an old Marvin Gaye song began to play. _You got to be kidding me… _She thought in amusement. _This is so corny! _She pressed yet another button and blaring rock music came off which scared her off the edge of the leather couch. She tried closing her ears and pressing buttons at the same time, but that obviously wasn't working out for the blinds were opening and closing, the music was changing to different genres, the lights were going from dim to high, she could swear the whole apartment was possessed. Finally after a few minutes of fiddling with the remote she managed to get everything back to normal. She decided that watching the TV was too dangerous for her so she decided to explore the place a little and the room she started with was Derek's trophy room. The room wasn't that big, but it wasn't small either. Casey circled the room reading the different plaques and labels on the trophies. She had to admit that she was quite impressed by his accomplishments. He had won an award for best new artist, best song award, his record even went platinum. He won an award from MTV also. _Wow, I guess he's not as hopeless as I thought he was. _She thought as she made her way out of the room and into Derek's room. It was clean only because the maid had come. Just as Casey began her snooping she heard the front door slam.

"Dery-poo, where are you?" It was a curiously familiar voice.

Casey walked out to the living room to see who it was.

It was a young busty blonde wearing jeans, blouse and black pumps. Casey knew exactly who it was.

"Kendra?" Casey muttered.

The blond looked at her and they stared at each other in puzzlement for a moment.

"Casey, what are you doing here?" Kendra asked curiously.

"Derek's letting me stay here, my apartment is currently submerged in water," she said with a slight grin on her features.

Kendra nodded and asked, "So where is he anyway?" She crossed her arms.

"I really don't know," Casey replied to the snobby woman.

"Oh," Kendra began. "Well, we were supposed to go out tonight," she said firmly.

"I don't know what to tell you, try calling his cell phone or something," Casey walked over to the kitchen as Kendra followed. "Wait a minute… Are you his girlfriend?"

Kendra grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and said in a proud way, "As a matter of fact, yes."

Casey let a laugh escape her as she thought, _If only you knew about last night._ She remembered throwing his "visitors" out of Derek's own room and chuckled again.

"What?"

"Huh?" Casey asked.

"Why'd you laugh?" The blonde asked with a boggled look on her face.

"No reason," She replied smugly.

Kendra sipped the water and kept a suspicious gaze on the younger Casey. "So, what are you doing these days?"

"Teaching ballet," She replied sitting on the black granite counter.

"Really, how's that going for you?" Kendra asked.

"Really well, I have my own studio and I'm choreographing a dance for my students to perform in December," Casey said. "What about you?"

"Well, you probably know that I'm a model and I'm currently on the cover for the magazine 'Vogue'."

Casey nodded. "That's great, Kendra."

There was an awkward silence and Casey hated it. She was about to say something when Kendra beat her to it saying, "Look, I'd love to stay and chat more with you, but I have to go, I'll see you later, Casey."

"Yeah, see you, Kendra," She replied, then Kendra left the apartment.

_That wasn't weird at all, _Casey thought sarcastically as she hopped off the counter. She was surprised that Kendra was still with Derek, they had been off and on since high school and that was a while ago. _I don't know what she sees in him. _She walked back in to the living room and lay down on the couch. She didn't realize how tired she was until her back hit the leather upholstery. _Wow this couch is comfortable; I'll just close my eyes for five minutes…_

Suddenly she heard the front door slam shut again and her eye lids flew open. She looked at her wrist watch; it read 1:30 AM. _Oh my god I fell asleep, _she thought before she heard a thump on the floor. It was dark in the apartment and unfortunately for Casey, she didn't know how to work the remote or where the light switch was. She fumbled through the darkness. She should've seen it coming for she tripped over something or someone.

"Owe!" She heard a familiar voice.

"Derek," She fumbled for the light and managed to turn on the entrance light and hall lights. It was still pretty dark, but at least she could see where she was going. She looked down and saw Derek barely conscious on the floor. "What the hell happened?" She bent down and helped him sit up.

He rubbed his eyes and looked at her with a dopey gape. He smiled and said, "Nothing… Nothing at all, everything is jusssst, fine," He was slurring his words and his breath smelled of alcohol.

"Dammit, Derek," She put one of his arms over her shoulder and helped him stand up. "Okay, let's go to your room," He began going for the kitchen which was in the opposite direction of his room. "No, no," Casey said quickly turning him in the right direction. "You're an idiot," she muttered.

Derek just laughed and began to talk to himself as they made their slow way through the hallway. "Write a ballad, he says, well fuck him! I can music my own produce," he stopped and thought about what he said for a moment.

Casey couldn't help but to laugh at his drunken-ness. "Alright, we made it," She said as she swung his bedroom door open and they walked in to the room. They had almost made it to his bed until Derek tripped over his own feet, toppling down and caused Casey to fall on top of him.

"God and you call me, clumsy," She said as they started to get up. Derek sat up along with Casey and for some reason just stared at each other. She was on her knees and he was sitting up with her between his legs. The close physical range was making Casey feel a bit uneasy as he just gazed up at her countenance.

"You have beautiful eyes, Case," he said as if he were sober.

She just laughed nervously and replied, "Yeah, thanks, come on get up." Again she helped him to his feet. They walked a few feet more to his bed and Derek clumsily laid down. Then before she went to bed, she retrieved a bottled water and some Tylenol and put it on Derek's bedside table. She changed into her pajamas, got in bed and before she dozed off thought, _I think moving here was a bad idea…_

'Rrrrrrring, Rrrrring, Rrrrring, Rrrrring,' Derek could hear ringing in his head, then he opened his eyes and realized it was his phone. He swung his arm over to his bedside table, grabbed the phone and answered it, "Hello," he said in a raspy voice.

"Derek, are you sick?" He heard his dad, George on the line.

"No, dad, it's called a hang over," Derek grabbed the Tylenol pills on his bedside table, took two and swallowed them down with the bottled water that was there. His eye brow rose in puzzlement, _how the hell did these get here? _He looked at the bottle of water in one hand and the bottle of Tylenol in the other.

"How are you, son?" George interrupted Derek's thoughts.

"Well other than the hang over, I'm annoyed."

"Why?"

Derek replied, "Do I really have to answer that?"

George sighed, "Derek, she's family. I'm sure she would do the same if your apartment ever flooded."

"Dad, let's get something straight, she's **not **family and I will never see her as a sister," Derek said firmly. He sat up and noticed he still had his dress shirt, jeans and shoes on. He still wondered how he ever made it to his bed.

"Could you at least see her as a friend?" George asked.

"I see her as something to tolerate and I can barely do that, you should've seen what she did the other day. She threw out my friends," Derek said the raspiness in his voice had passed.

"I know it's hard, but she'll only be there a few more weeks' right?" George was trying to stay on the positive side of things.

Derek was about to respond when he heard a scream. "Dad, let me call you back," He hung up on his father and hopped out of bed. He heard the scream again and it was coming from his laundry room. He rushed in and was completely shocked. The whole room was submerged in foamy bubbles and there Casey was on top of the washer pressing random buttons of the digital remote panel. Derek rushed over and just pulled the plug.

"God, why does everything in you're apartment have to be so difficult," Casey exclaimed in frustration as she wiped all the bubble foam off her body. Her pajamas were completely soaked.

Derek had his arms crossed as he just stared at her with a look of amusement on his features. "Why didn't you just ask me how to use this stuff?"

"Oh like you would've cared enough to teach me," she stated.

He nodded. "Eh, you're right about that."

She sighed calming down a bit.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work? Its 9:30," he said glancing at his watch.

"Shit," Casey made her clumsy way out as Derek tried to restrain himself from laughing.

He just stood there and began to count to himself, _three, two, one…_

"You are such an asshole, Derek, today is Saturday," Casey walked back in to the small laundry room.

He just smiled. "Hey it's not my fault you don't know what day it is."

She walked up to him and pushed him to into the bubbles. She laughed as he struggled to get back to his feet.

Derek grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her down with him, she then grabbed a bunch of bubbles and threw it at him, he did the same and they both wouldn't admit it, but they were having a good time.

In the middle of all there fun the door bell rang, they both stopped, a smile upon both their faces. Derek realized it and she must have also for she quickly left the room. He stood up slowly trying to figure out what the hell was going on with his emotions; he then made his way to the door and opened it.

"Hey, Derek," It was Kendra. She walked in abruptly and said, "What happened last night?"

He replied, "Listen, Kay, a lot has been going on lately, I totally forgot about our date."

"Oh, well I'm sorry, Derry," Kendra went up to him and kissed him tenderly on his lips. She didn't seem all that interested in his story. "I've been wanting to talk to you about 'us'," she said shortly after kissing him.

"Come on, Kay, don't do this," he started. "You know how I hate talking about emotional shit."

She smiled at him and stroked his arm as he held her in his arms. "I know, I just think that it's time to take it to the next level."

He grinned craftily and asked, "Threesomes?"

"No, silly, Marriage," Kendra said.

Derek tensed up when she said that. _Did she just say the 'M' word? _He continued to stare in to her eyes. _She did just say it! _He had to admit that Kendra was exceptionally hot, but she just wasn't the type of person he would settle down with. Wait… Did he just… No, he wasn't ready to settle down, period. Yeah… There we go.

"As much as I love that idea, I'm gonna have to say, no," Derek said letting go of her.

Kendra crossed her arms and asked, "Will you at least think about it?"

Derek sighed, paused for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll think about it."

"Awesome, well I have to go, but call me later," After kissing him good-bye she left.

Derek mumbled under his breath, "Yeah right." He turned around and saw Casey standing there with her arms crossed with a puzzled yet amused look on her face.

"I didn't know you were thinking of marriage, Derry-poo," she said mocking Kendra.

"The problem is I'm not," He began, he was still thinking about the ballad he had to write, he cursed to himself, then cursed out loud angrily, "Fuck!"

"Whoa, it's not that bad, Derek, why don't you just talk to her about it?" Casey said seriously.

Sighing, he just walked passed her saying, "It's not Kendra."

As if she hated herself for caring, Casey threw her arms up and asked, "Okay, then what is it about?" She followed him in to the kitchen.

He replied as he scanned the inside of his fridge for something to snack on, "Don't worry about it, okay?" He took out some left over pizza and a bottle of water and sat down at the island in the middle of his kitchen.

She sat across from him and said, "It's obviously something that's bothering you." She just stared at him intent on getting his little secret out of him.

He took a few bites out of the pepperoni pizza, glanced at her, then back down, then back at her. "Alright," he exclaimed in annoyance. "If I tell you will you leave me alone?"

She nodded, "Gladly."

He took a deep cleansing breath and summarized his issue with his producer. To his surprise Casey seemed genuinely concerned which was odd, and telling her made him feel a little bit better which was even odder.

After hearing Derek's problem she just sighed and suggested, "Well… I know I'm just a ballet teacher, but I think you should get out of this apartment and try to find inspiration some where and not at a bar or strip joint."

He nodded. "Right, just going out will just give me an epiphany," he said sarcastically. "You know what, Case, just stick to what you're good at, Dancing," he told her harshly.

She shot him a narrow eyed glare and replied, "It was a simple suggestion, Derek, Oh my god," She groaned in frustration. "It seems that we are completely incapable of having a decent conversation."

"What kind of suggestion is that anyway?" He stood up and put his plate in the sink. "Go walk around New York and hope for an inspiration to hit me in the head," he mocked her. "It's not that simple."

"You're the one making it complicating, just like everything else in your apartment," She retorted.

"It's not my fault you live in an apartment from the Stone Age," he said walking in to the living room, turning on the TV that Casey just turned back off.

"Apartment from the Stone Age? That's real mature, Derek. At least I go to my job everyday," she said crossing her arms.

"You call that a job? Teaching little snot nosed kids how to kick their legs up and act queer?" He said attempting to kick his leg up but only got it up halfway.

"What about you? You just have sex with girls and get drunk!" She shot back.

"Whose apartment is flooded? Is it mine? Oh, no, it's yours," he pointed out to her.

"Just cuz you have a nicer apartment than me, doesn't mean you're more successful than I am," she said not sounding too confident towards the end of that sentence.

"Actually that's exactly what it means, princess," He lowered his voice and inched closer to her. "My dad and your mom even think so."

Casey gulped and tried to say confidently, "You're lying."

"If I'm lying tell me why Nora said that dancing is not a way to make a living, that it's just a waste of time," He said.

"S-she…" Casey trailed off as the tears gleamed in her eyes. "You're such an asshole, Derek!" She then ran out the door.

_That was way harsh, Venturi, _Derek's conscience told him. He just gazed at his front door for a bit then sat down and turned on the TV. _She'll be back… _He had to assure himself of it because in reality, he really wasn't sure if she **was** coming back.


	4. Perfectly Clueless

**A/N: So I'm loving the feedback I'm getting for this story! Thank's for all the support and ideas. I know I've probably said this before and I know it's totally corny, but you-the readers-are my inspiration. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**AAA**

Casey managed to grab her purse before she ran out of the apartment upsettedly. She hopped in to a cab and went to her best friend's house all the way on the other side of the city. Emily Davis had been Casey's best friend since high school and although they drifted apart after they graduated and went on in different directions, they always stayed in touch, either by phone or e-mail.

On the way to Emily's house, Casey couldn't help but to think that there was some truth in what Derek told her. She replayed everything he said in her head, _"Dancing is not a way to make a living, it's a waste of time". _But she loved her job; it was a passion and something that was special to Casey. How could her own mother not support her?

Two hours passed, she arrived in front of an off white house, with a picket fence around the fairly large property. She paid the cab driver and walked on to the porch and up to the front door. She knocked on the door and after a few minutes of waiting the door opened and there stood a little five year old girl, dark skin and curly hair just like her mother.

Casey smiled and said, "Hey, you probably don't remember me, I'm Casey."

The little girl just stared at Casey with a clueless expression on her face.

"Kamaya, what did I tell you about answering the door?" A young woman with very curly long hair walked up and gently pulled the little girl aside. She then looked up at Casey and immediately screamed in excitement as if she were in high school again. They hugged each other and screamed, then hugged each other. Emily's daughter was standing next to her mother with her hands over her ears.

"Oh my god, what are you doing here? This is so unexpected, Casey. How long has it been? Five, ten years?" Emily asked calming down a bit.

"It's been too long, Em," Casey replied, hugging her best friend a little more sincerely. They stood there for a moment before walking in to the cozy house.

Emily was now a stay at home mom, with her husband Sheldon Shlepper and two kids, Jayden and Kamaya. Sheldon became a lawyer and was recently working on a big case so he was staying late nights at the office. Jayden just turned eight and Kamaya was five, both attending school.

The two best friends were sitting there in the living room as the kids watched cartoons on the Disney channel.

"I'm so glad you're happy, with your husband, two kids, this nice house," Casey said with a smile. The whole house didn't have that modern uncomfortable feel. Emily's country sense of style made it feel cozy.

Emily grinned and nodded throwing a log in to the fireplace. "Thank's, Case." She dusted off her hands and sat back down next to her Besty with a worried smile. "So, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean, what's wrong? Can't I just pay a visit to my best friend, just because?" Casey fiddled with her fingers.

Emily raised an eyebrow at her seriously and said, "You obviously need some moral support, the question is why? Is it Ballet?"

Casey shook her head and kept a distraught expression on her features.

"Is it your mom?" Emily guessed again.

Casey shook her head once more.

She decided to take one more guess, "Is it Derek?"

This time Casey heaved a sigh.

"What happened this time?" Emily asked in a mono toned voice.

The ballet instructor explained the whole story in a matter of a few minutes. Emily had to pause for a moment so her brain could register all the information Casey just gave her.

"Look's like things never changed between you two," Emily said as she laid back into her suede sofa.

"I don't think they ever will," Casey sighed. "He hasn't matured one bit, his mind is stuck in high school still." She plopped back into the cushiony couch and covered her eyes with her hands in frustration. "God, why do I let him get to me?"

The curly head ten year old heard Casey and quickly turned around saying, "Ooo… Casey said God."

Emily sighed and sent them to their play room in the basement to watch TV. She then turned back to Casey after they were gone. "Look, I know that Derek isn't the most sensitive guy in the world, but maybe there is some truth in what he told you about your mom."

Casey stood up and said upsettedly, "There you go, taking **his **side as always."

"No I'm not, Case, just hear me out."

Folding her arms, Casey stood there waiting intently.

"Has your mom ever taken you to your ballet rehearsals or recitals? Has she ever seen you dance, like really watched you dance?" Emily asked.

Sinking back in to the couch, Casey had an epiphany. Her mom had never once seen her dance or even driven her to rehearsals. It was always Derek or George. "Oh my god, Em, you're right."

"Casey, you're just going to have to confront your mom about this and talk it out with her," Emily began. "And as far as Derek goes, sorry honey, but you're on your own in that department."

She pouted and said in a sing-song, "But, Emily…"

Emily couldn't help but to laugh at her childishness. "You sound like a distraught teenager again."

Casey giggled and Emily joined her.

"I would offer you a place to stay here, but I don't know how you feel about driving two hours to work everyday. Plus, I don't think Sheldon would approve, no offense to you," said Emily and she pat Casey's leg comfortingly.

"None taken, but do you think he would mind if I just stayed for tonight?" Casey asked with puppy dog eyes.

"No, he's not that anal," Emily laughed.

Casey smiled. _So you stay the night here, then what? _Casey's conscience told her. _You still have to go back and face him. _She cringed at that fact. _It's okay, _She told herself. _You just have to tolerate him for a few more weeks…_She sighed in discouragement. _Easier said than done, Mcdonald…_

Meanwhile back at the rock stars apartment, Derek began to think about Casey and if she was okay as he was watching TV. He looked at his phone sitting there on his coffee table. He could hear it saying, _Pick me up, Derek, Call Casey, Call Casey. _He shook the taunting voice out of his head and stood up running a hand through his silky hair. He then walked into his room, sat down on his bed and began to strum a few chords on his acoustic guitar. That voice came back again, _What if she's in danger? What're you gonna tell her mom and sister? _Again he shook his head, put the guitar down, grabbed the remote on his bedside table and turned on blaring rock music. Maybe that would drown out that damned voice. _What if she's lying in the middle of Central park? _Derek grabbed a pillow, placed it over his face and screamed in to it. He was partly frustrated and partly furious. He's not supposed to care, she was a grown woman, she could take care of herself. Derek paced around his apartment for hours subconsciously. He was trying to find things to do to keep his mind off of… _There's nothing to worry about, she's probably at a hotel sound asleep while you're up at one o' clock in the morning worrying about her. Wait you're not worrying about her! Derek Venturi is worry free! Not a care in the world. _He thought as he looked at the phone again. The voice began to speak to him yet again, _Stop being so proud, call her and see if she's okay. _Derek quickly grabbed the phone and threw it between the cushions of his couch and sat down. He took a cleansing breath and laid his head back relaxing a bit, closing his eyes. _Call Casey, _He suddenly heard again. It startled him and he jumped to his feet and muttered, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Before Casey went to sleep she decided to call her mom. She had to admit that she didn't want to, she was kind of afraid of the truth but the suspense was killing her. She picked up her cell phone dialed her mom's cell number and put the phone to her ear, waiting patiently for her mom to pick up.

"Hello?" A tired voice answered.

"Mom?" Casey said trying not to sound nervous.

"Casey? Honey what's wrong, why are you calling so late?" Her mom's raspy voice cleared up after a moment.

"I missed you," Casey had to have an excuse for her late night call. "And I also have a question for you."

"Well, what is it, sweetie?"

"Do you really think Ballet is a waste of time for me?" Casey asked her voice already cracking.

There was a long pause before Nora replied, "Well… I'm not gonna lie to you, but yes."

"Mom, how could you"

Nora interrupted, "I just think you could've done better than a ballet instructor."

"But, it's something I love to do, doesn't that matter like at all?" Casey asked as she stood up to pace around the room unsettlingly.

"Can't we talk more tomorrow about this?" Nora asked calmly.

Casey just sighed and hit her mother with another unexpected question, "Do you think Derek is more successful than I am?"

Another long suspenseful pause took place.

"Casey… He's won awards and traveled the world," Nora began.

Casey could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, but she held them back. "How could you not support your own daughter?"

There was a long deathening silence between them before Casey went on, "It's not like I didn't work hard to get where I am. I went to school had a part time job and went to ballet lessons, do you even know what that's like?"

"Sweetie, I know you worked hard"

Again the daughter interrupted, "You obviously don't! Come to think of it mom, I have never heard you say, 'Casey, I'm proud of you'. Emily pointed out to me today that you never took me to any of my rehearsals or recitals." She could no longer hold back her tears, they drifted down her cheeks. There was yet another long silence and Casey couldn't take it anymore so she said, "I'm sorry I didn't live up to your expectations, goodnight, mother." She then hung up and spent the rest of the night crying. She finally cried herself to sleep.

Morning arrived too soon for Derek, he had fallen asleep on his living room couch. When he woke up he had a crick in his neck. As he stretched it out he heard ringing. It sounded like his phone, but where was it? Ah yes, that's right he was sitting on it. He grabbed the phone from between the cushions of his couch and answered it.

"How's my favorite, rock star?" It was his producer Max.

Derek rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he replied, "Tired."

"Rough night?"

Derek hated preliminaries and asked, "What do you want, Miller?"

"Ouch, so we're on a last name basis now?" There was a brief pause before Max went on, "I'm just checking up on that ballad you're writing."

"It's going," Derek lied. Well he couldn't very well tell him that he hadn't started yet, how would that look?

"Good," Max stated. "By the way I'm having a little get-together tomorrow night at my pad, you and a lady friend are invited."

"Uh-huh, okay, I'll talk to you later," Derek hung up on him. He knew the only reason Max invited him was because Derek was a rock star. Whatever… He didn't really care. What did he care about? _I should probably call her now, no, no, Venturi what are you thinking? _He dropped the phone and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

After he showered he decided that he wanted to take a walk through the park near his apartment building. So he put on his disguise; he put on his blond black wig and fake beard and mustache, a long trench coat and a hat and walked out of the building without anyone- except Eduardo- noticing him.

Derek was trying to convince himself that his random outing wasn't because of Casey, when in reality it was exactly because of her. Was he going to admit it? That was like admitting to defeat! So of course he wasn't going to admit it, especially to her. Was he? Derek noticed that it was a beautiful Sunday. The sun was shinning, the smog levels were low and he really didn't have any need for a jacket, but it was a part of his disguise so he kept it on. He decided to sit down on a park bench, he had his trusty note pad and pen in one hand as he just observed the environment. He noticed a couple holding hands just walking down the sidewalk and for some reason he thought of… _No, don't start, Venturi, Don't even. _He hit the middle of his forehead with the palm of his hand. He looked up again and saw yet another couple, they were a cute old couple holding hands being so sweet to each other. Again, Derek didn't think of his girlfriend… His girlfriend... _Damn what was her name again? _He felt so incredibly stupid for not remembering his own girl's name. _Kendra! Her name is Kendra! Fuck… _He leaned on his knees with his elbows and just covered his face for a moment. _God, Venturi, what's wrong with you? A few days living with Casey has driven you crazy. _Did she really drive him crazy or was it something… Else? _Alright, Venturi, just suck it up! _He picked up his notebook and pen. Just thinking for a moment, he just sat there feeling the cold crisp breeze hit his faux beard and watched the breeze gracefully dance back and forth. Still he couldn't think of one thing to write on the blank pages of the notepad. Derek decided to let thoughts of Casey enter his mind. Her smile when she's happy, that pouty expression she has when she's sad. How she crosses her arms when she's angry at him. He didn't realize it, but he had a grin on his features just thinking of the little things she does that make the hairs on his neck stand on end. Derek leaned back and inhaled followed by a slow exhale. _What's happening here? _

Casey arrived back at the apartment completely drained. She hadn't slept very well at Emily's. She had different emotions overwhelming her being and it was all Derek's fault. As she walked through the loby, Eduardo greeted her with a friendly smile. Casey tried to smile back but couldn't find it in herself.

"Miss Mcdonald, what's wrong? You look exhausted," he stopped her.

Casey walked over to the desk, she couldn't be rude and ignore him, how unclassy would that be? "I didn't get enough sleep, that's all."

"Are you sure that's all?" Eduardo asked curiously suspecting something else.

"Why do you say that?" Casey asked with a slight grin on her countenance.

"No reason, I just saw mister Venturi walk out a few hours ago and he didn't look so good either," The man replied.

Casey couldn't help but to smile at that. "So he does care," she thought aloud.

"Well, I just thought you should know that, Madame," Eduardo said with a crafty look on his face.

She was too tired to notice. "Well, I'm going to take a nap," Casey bid him a due and walked over to the elevator.

Up at the apartment Casey walked in and noticed how quiet it was. She sighed as she walked over to the couch and plopped down. It didn't take that long for her to fall asleep. Apparently that couch was more comfortable than the guest bed she had to sleep on. She curled up into the fetal position on her side and just slept, something she hadn't done all night.

Derek walked through the door later on in the evening with a pizza box in hand. He went to the kitchen and placed the box on the island. After, he walked in to the living room and saw Casey on the sofa, fast asleep. With a grin on his handsome face, he grabbed a blanket from the hallway closet and covered her with it. Gently he brushed her silky hair out of her face and just gazed upon her for a moment or two. _She looks so content when she sleeps. _He thought. Then he realized that he was staring at her and quickly adjourned back into the kitchen. He sat down at the island, opened the pizza box, grabbed a piece of pepperoni pizza and thought in complete disbelief. _This can't be happening... _


	5. Passed The Denial Stage

**A/N: Chapter is up! Keep the reviews coming, they are like fuel. Any suggestions? Anyone? Don't be shy...**

**AAA**

_God, I fell asleep on the couch… _Casey sat up and stretched out her limbs making the blanket fall off. _What the… How did this get here? _She asked herself very perplexed. She then thought for a brief moment that Derek put it on her. _Nah… _She quickly dismissed the thought from her mind. She then glanced at her cell phone and it read, 7 o' clock. _Oh my god, I have to get ready for work! _Casey ran in to the guest bedroom quickly brushed her teeth simultaneously styling her hair in a bun, then she put on her ballet attire, then clothes to wear over her ballet outfit and rushed out, with her ballet bag and purse in hand.

Derek was sleeping peacefully until he heard the abrupt slam of his front door. He glanced at his cell to look at the time. _God, I'm not used to getting up this early. _He told himself. _Fuck it, I'm up… _He dragged himself out of bed. After taking a shower and getting ready for the day, he ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast as he watched TV on his sofa. _What am I gonna do today? _He asked himself. He felt like doing something productive. So he did his laundry. He even folded them and put it away. _Wow, I just feel like I got something done, it's almost as good as writing a number one hit single. _After he cleaned almost every inch of his apartment he sat back down on the couch in boredom. _I wonder what Casey does at work? _He thought curiously.

She was instructing the older kids today, they were working on an old choreography which had a mixture of different dance steps. Casey was counting out the beat with the classical music she was playing. The two minute dance finished and she told the kids to take a water break. You could see everyone dancing through the huge glass window of her studio, so Casey could see everyone walking by her studio through the reflection of the mirror which covered the whole back wall. As she was doing a pirouette, she spotted a shady character staring through the glass window. She looked again and he was gone. _What the hell?_ She just brushed it off and thought, _Old perv. _The children came back and she instructed them all to line up on the bar. She instructed them to practice their battement degage's on the barre. Which was just graceful movements of the feet being kicked to the front to the side and back. She walked up and down the barre correcting the students and they performed their degage's to the classical song "alla turca", which was a fairly fast song, but this was her intermediate class. She then spotted that shady person through the window again. She told the class to continue and decided to confront this person. She angrily walked outside and the person began to walk away but she stopped him.

"Hey, you!" She yelled after him.

The person just sighed and turned around to face the annoyed ballet instructor.

It took Casey a while to realize who it was. "Oh my god, Derek?" She said in surprise.

"Sshhh… Not so loud," he covered her mouth.

She pushed his hand away and asked, "What are you doing here?" Of course she was still mad at him. "Haven't you damaged enough of my life?"

"I just… You know…" he began kind of ashamed. "Wanted to see what you do at work," he finished in a tone of voice she could barely hear.

She placed her hands to her hips and asked, "Don't you have a song to write?"

"Never mind, I shouldn't have come," he walked off angrily.

Casey just glared at him as he walked away. _God, he's annoying. _She walked back in to her studio and resumed with the class.

Finally her last lesson of the day passed and she was back at the apartment where Derek sat in the living room watching TV. She began to walked passed him to the kitchen but she was stopped.

"Casey," he hopped off the couch and walked up to her. "I think we should have a little mano-y-woman…o." He said awkwardly.

She crossed her arms. "Fine how's this for you? You're an asshole!" She continued into the kitchen as he followed her.

"Wait, dammit, Casey I'm serious," he said.

"Oh, so am I," she replied angrily slamming the fridge shut after she grabbed a bottled water. She took a gulp from the bottle and said, "You know how to take a perfectly good life and just fuck it up!"

"Oh whatever, like your life was perfect. You went to work everyday, do you even have a life?" he asked calmly.

She was appalled by his statement. "Yes, I did! Ballet was my life."

"Well sorry to burst your bubble, princess, but life isn't just about ballet and it's not my fault your place got flooded," he replied crossing his arms.

"It's not my fault that my mother thinks so much of you and so little of me," she gestured angrily and walked out of the kitchen into the living room to get away from him, but he just kept following her.

"What are you talking about?" he asked apparently tired of her drama.

"I talked to my mother last night and I asked her if she really thought you were more successful than me." She paused cuz' she could feel a frog in her throat. "Apparently you were right." She then walked away into the guest room and slammed the door.

Derek stood there surprised that she would take that comment he said about her mom so seriously. He really didn't mean it, he just told her that to get under her skin. Damn did he feel like a grade 'A' asshole. He sat down arguing with himself. _Tell her your sorry, you know she's in there crying, do something, Venturi. _He shook his head as he thought, _I don't do tears. _The voice stated, _Cuz' it makes you feel vulnerable. _He sighed and stood up. He gradually made his way to the guest room and as he was about to knock, the doorbell rang. He had to admit that he was relieved but felt like he had this huge burden on his shoulders. He walked back to answer the door and it was Kendra. She was wearing a sexy red cocktail dress and black pumps.

"You ready, Derry?" she asked him with a smile.

"For what?" Derek asked cluelessly.

Kendra let herself in and replied, "Max's party silly."

_Shit, I totally forgot about that, I guess I'll make an appearance. _He got changed quickly and before he walked out of the apartment he knocked on Casey's door. "I'm going to a party, Case, I just wanted to know if you wanted to go."

"No, go away," was the harsh reply.

"I won't stop bothering you until you come with us," he threatened her.

"Derek, come on we're gonna be late," Kendra said impatiently waiting by the door.

He held up his index finger implying that she wait. Suddenly the door flew open and there stood Casey in dark blue dress pants, white heels and a white turtle neck sweater with a gold chain belt around her waist. She looked very classy which didn't surprise him at all.

"You're lucky you're the most annoying person in the world," she said putting on a jacket and gloves. Her hair was still up in a bun.

The three walked out of the apartment building and hopped into a black limousine. Kendra didn't seem to happy with Derek bringing Casey along but he really didn't care. He was just glad to get her out of that apartment.

Thirty minutes to an hour later they arrived at a huge apartment building that was way bigger than Derek's. They walked in as the paparazzi took pictures of Kendra and Derek together. Casey just kind of sneaked in without anyone noticing. They walked into the elevator and traveled up to the top floor of the building. Max owned the top floor and the roof which had a hot tub and pool.

Casey could hear the blaring of music from inside the elevator as they approached the top floor. Finally the doors parted and a flow of loud music filled her ears. _I can't believe I let him talk me in to this. _She thought as they stepped out and greeted all the 'fellow' celebrities that were there. She kind of just kept to herself as she followed Kendra and Derek around. She then had the courage to break off and found a nice spot on the roof. It was the middle of winter so no one was up there except the three or four people in the hot tub. There on the roof Casey just enjoyed the clear blue light from the moon. _I don't even know why he dragged me along with him. _She thought bitterly.

"Excuse me, miss," she turned to see a black haired young man her age in a nice dress shirt, slacks and dress shoes. She had to admit he was cute also.

She looked at him as if she were saying, "Why are you talking to me?"

"I couldn't help but to notice you standing all alone up here," he said with a grin on his handsome features.

"Oh, well, I don't really know anyone in there," she said crossing her arms trying to keep warmth in her body.

He put his hands in his pockets and nodded. "I understand, you're intimidated by all the celebrities in there."

Casey stayed quiet. _That and Derek's in there and I really don't wanna see him right now, _she thought.

"I'm Max Miller," said the young guy holding out his hand for her to shake.

She shook his hand saying, "Casey Mcdonald."

He smiled and gazed into her eyes for a moment. "How come I've never seen you at any of my previous social events?" he asked her as he walked up beside her.

"Oh, well, this is a one time thing, I came here with my step-brother, maybe you know him, Derek Venturi," she replied dryly.

"Yeah, I know him." Max looked surprised. "He's never mentioned you, ever."

"No surprise there, we try to avoid each other as much as possible," she looked down at the pool. She could see the reflection of the moon in the water.

"Well, you're not doing a very good job of it if you're here with him," he said in amusement.

Smiling she glanced at him. "My apartment is flooded and he's the only person I can stay with that's close to my ballet studio." She was surprised that she could talk to him so easily.

"Oh, you're a ballet teacher," Max stated.

She nodded. There was an awkward pause before Casey said, "So whose party is this anyway? He must be loaded."

"I guess you can say that," he said. "**I'm** hosting this wonderful social event."

She grinned and said in a smart-alec tone of voice, "Is that what you call it these days?"

He laughed. "You're a very interesting young woman, Casey Mcdonald."

"Thank you, but I honestly think I'm too interesting for my own good," she replied half-jokingly.

Meanwhile Derek and Kendra were done making their rounds and he was more than ready to go. Then he realized that Casey was gone so he decided to leave Kendra's side and look for her. It took him a minute or two to realize that she was probably on the roof. He walked up the stairs through the roof access doors and saw Casey and Max being a little more than chummy with each other. Derek suddenly felt an emotion fill his body, an emotion he thought he would never feel about Casey. He interrupted their little flirty moment by clearing his throat angrily.

"Oh hey, Derek, how come you never told me you had a step-sister?" Max asked as Casey rolled her eyes, apparently annoyed that Derek interrupted.

"Must've slipped my mind," he replied and turned to Casey, "We're leaving, are you ready to go?"

Casey just sighed in annoyance and walked passed Derek and through the roof access doors.

"Look's like she's not very fond of you, Venturi," Max said with a plotful smile on his face. "I think she would be nice to date."

Max knew he was getting to Derek and boy did Derek want to punch him in the face when he said that. "Leave her alone, Max," Derek tried to say calmly.

"Oh I'll leave her alone, but I can't guarantee she'll leave me alone," Max said gleaming craftily.

"Did you steal that from a movie?" Derek implied more than asked. "God, that's so unoriginal." And with that he walked away.

As soon as they three walked into the apartment, Casey began to stomp off to her room, muttering something that Derek and Kendra couldn't hear.

"Are you hungry, Case? There's pizza in the fridge," Derek thought he'd ask, but she just responded with the loud slam of her door.

"She's not a very pleasant person today," Kendra commented. "What did you do to her?" She closed the front door and put her hand bag on the table beside the door.

He shook his head and replied, "Don't worry about it."

Kendra walked up to him and threw her arms around him saying, "Well… The night's still young." She gently kissed him lightly on his lips. "We can have our own fun now, what do you say?"

He grinned and said slowly, "Not tonight, Kay."

"Why?" She asked him firmly. She was not a person who took rejection very well and he knew that.

"Well…" he tried to think of an excuse. "I have a lot of work to do tomorrow and I'm just not in the mood."

She backed away with a curious yet angered glare. "And? That's never stopped you before."

"Kay, seriously, I've just had a lot on my mind lately," he walked over to his mini bar in the living room and poured himself a shot of some expensive Brandy and gulped it down.

She walked up to him and gazed into his eyes studying them, intent on finding the real reason. She stood there as Derek buried his feelings deep within himself so she wouldn't suspect anything.

"You're falling for someone," she stated in anger mixed with sadness.

_Shit, _he thought as he took another shot. Staying silent he stared down at his shot glass. _I'm such a dumb ass, here's a beautiful model throwing herself at you and you reject her coldly. _

"It's that Isabella slut, isn't it?" Kendra had her hands on her hips.

"No," Derek said as if that were the most absurd thing in the world. "I don't even talk to her that much."

"Well then who is it?!" She raised her voice angrily.

"Would you keep it down, Casey has to work in the morning," He stopped in his tracks, knowing he gave it away just by saying her name.

Kendra's eyes widened in a disgusted shock. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She said apparently trying to keep her composure. "Derek, she's your sister!"

"Step-sister and I've never for once in the time that I've known her ever thought of her that way," He replied putting the Brandy back on the glass shelf.

"Are you leaving me for a ballet teacher?" She asked as her breathing became shallow.

He didn't know what he was doing, so he just stayed quiet again.

"No, no," Kendra was completely freaking out. "You are not breaking up with me!" She went up to him and poked him in the chest. "I'm going to leave now and you think, hard, about what you're going to do." She then walked out slamming the door behind her.

_Well, that went splendid, Venturi, _His conscience told him. Just as he was about to relax, Casey came storming out of her room.

"Could you please keep it down?" she exclaimed in a fury that Derek thought was so sexy.

He didn't know why but he rose his voice also. It was a habit. "Don't worry she's gone! Go back to sleep."

She scowled at him and began to walked back to her room.

"I didn't mean what I said that night, Casey."

She turned around and asked calmly, "Why do you even care? You were right weren't you? I thought you'd be happy about that."

"I'm not that fucked up," he said meeting her gaze from across the room. He could've sworn for one second that he saw something in her orbs of blue, but it quickly vanquished as she looked away.

"Apparently you are," she pulled a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear. Again she made her way back to her room.

_Don't let her go, you cretaceous cretin, _Derek's conscience told him. What the fuck? He didn't even know what a cretaceous cretin was, but that didn't matter at the moment, he ran after her and stopped her in the hallway. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. It took him a while to realize the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Your crying," his voice cracked a little in fear.

"So? When have you ever cared about anyone but yourself?" Her face was contorted with so much sorrow and disappointment.

"I care, Casey, more than you know," he said getting passed her tears. Yes, when she cried he felt vulnerable, but for some reason he didn't mind it at all.

Her weeping became heavier and more intense as she said, "Derek, my own mother thinks I'm a failure."

He didn't know what to say so he just enveloped her in his arms in a comforting awkward hug. She didn't pull away, which surprised him. She just buried her face in his lean torso and let out all her frustrations of life. He gently stroked her back as she wept and thought, _God, Nora, why? _They stood there about roughly five to ten minutes as Derek held her in his arms. When she pulled away she mouthed a 'thank you' to him before walking into her room and closing the door softly.

Derek had a slight grin on his features as he walked in to his room. _Damn, Venturi, you fell pretty hard this time. _He told himself in amusement. _You're in love with Casey Mcdonald…_

The next day as Casey taught her advanced students in her studio, a man walked in with a dozen white tulips. She was surprised when he walked up to her and gave them to her. _What the… Who are these from? _She wondered. The man then gave her a white envelope, she opened it and read it's contents;

_Miss Casey Mcdonald,_

_You have made and impression on me. Please grace me with your presence this evening and join me for dinner at one of the most prestigious restaurants in New York 'Alain Ducasse at the essex house restaurant'. The Limousine will pick you up at 7 o' clock. Oh yes, and I took the liberty of buying you a dress for this occasion, it'll be at the apartment when you get home. Have a great work day!_

_Sincerely,_

_Max Miller of Miller Productions_

Casey couldn't help but to smile. She was so excited, a night out with a multi-millionaire, what could be more perfect? He even bought her a dress and there's gonna be a limo waiting for her. She felt like she was in the clouds just floating higher and higher, then one of her students tugged her back down reminding her that she was still in class. She laughed inwardly and resumed the lesson with her students.

As soon as the clock struck five o' clock Casey was out the door whistling for a cab to take her back to Derek's apartment so she could get ready for her big date. She arrived just a little after six because of traffic and rushed in through the door, passed the kitchen where Derek ate his dinner and into her room. There was a beautiful black cocktail dress laying there on her bed with a pink sash to tie around her waist and black pointed pumps. She was absolutely taken aback by the silk dress.

"The maid brought that in earlier, what's the occasion?" Derek asked leaning against the doorpost with his arms crossed.

Casey had a grin as she said, "Max is taking me out to dinner."

"Max?" Derek was obviously startled. "Max Miller my producer?"

"Is there a problem?" she asked him smugly.

He shook his head. "No, no, no problem here. Have fun." He turned around and walked out.

Casey couldn't really tell, but she could've sworn that she heard a glint of jealousy in his words. _Nah… _She thought as she closed her door and walked into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

As Derek sat on his couch simultaneously writing while he was watching TV, he heard footsteps walk out to the living room. He was caught completely off guard when he turned around and saw Casey in her sleek sexy cocktail dress and pumps. She was wearing light make-up and she had curled her hair so that it looked wavy and natural. His jaw dropped in awe as he tried not to stare at the leggy brunette walk out of the hallway. The dress highlighted all her feminine curves. _God, her legs… _He just wanted to touch those silk soft dancers legs, but held back. _What I wouldn't do to ravish those glossy lips of hers, _he didn't realize that he had licked his own lips at the thought. _Oh my god, and her chest! Where did those come from? _He asked himself as he glanced at her cleavage that the 'V' neck dress showed off. It wasn't a whole lot, but it was still there.

"Derek, stop looking at me like that, you're creeping me out," She interrupted his thoughts and he quickly snapped back into reality.

"I wasn't looking at you in any way," his eyes fell back down upon his notepad and he pretended to write.

Casey gave him a sidelong look and muttered, "Right." She shouldered her coach purse and said, "Well, the limo is waiting, I'll probably be home late." She then walked out without looking back.

Derek just sat there for a moment attempting to concentrate on his song, but he just couldn't get the image of Casey out of his mind. She looked so radiant and graceful. He really hated that Max was the one taking her out to dinner. It should've been Derek. _Okay, Venturi… We've established the fact that you're in love with Casey, but we haven't yet established the course of action your gonna take. _His conscience told him. Derek brushed both his hands through his hair in complete hindrance. _I don't know what I'm going to do… _


	6. Empire State Building

Casey felt like she was in a fairytale. She just loved how the restaurant had a French modern look to it and the food was superb. Dinner with Max seemed too good to be true, she wondered what the catch was. If he just wanted a one night stand or if he was for real. She really didn't know. As she ate the rest of her delicious dessert, she wiped her mouth and placed her cloth napkin in the plate.

"So, tell me, mister Miller," she began.

He interrupted her, "Please, call me Max. Mister Miller makes me sound so old."

Casey grinned and said, "Okay, Max, what did I do to deserve this beautiful dress, this romantic dinner and your company?"

"To tell you the truth, I should be the one asking those questions," He replied. "I wasn't even sure you were gonna come."

"Well, I figured it would be a shame to waste this dress," she joked with a smile.

He grimaced along with her. "I'm glad you like it."

_Why does this feel so weird? _She asked herself. _Maybe it's because I haven't been on a date in so long. _She just sat there with Max sipping her expensive glass of red wine as they talked, getting to know each other better.

"So you have your own ballet studio, that's quite an accomplishment," Max said seemingly impressed.

She replied, "Yeah, well my mother doesn't seem to think so."

"Why is that?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, well," She really didn't want to tell him about her little feud with her mom. "Don't worry about it."

"Let me guess," he put his finger to his chin in thought. "She expects more of you," he said.

She kept a grin on her features as she answered, "I guess you can put it that way." Casey looked around at the neighboring tables and noticed that they were empty. The restaurant staff were bussing the tables and there were only a few customers left in the restaurant. She glanced at her watch and it read; 12:00. Time really flew, but then again she was enjoying herself.

"Well, I better take you home before your step-brother scolds me for having you out so late," Max stood and helped her out of her seat as well.

"Oh he won't care," Casey replied carelessly.

Derek was still sitting on his leather couch watching TV and writing his ballad. He was also waiting for his front door to open. _Just relax, Venturi… _he told himself, but he couldn't help but to think of all the bad things Max Miller could be doing with… He shook his head ridding those evil thoughts and just kept writing his ballad. He had to admit it was coming along great, he didn't even know he had it in himself to write a sappy love song.

It was ten o' clock and Casey still wasn't home. Didn't she have work the next day? Did she even care? Derek's cogitations were interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He answered it, "Hello?"

"Hello Derek, it's Nora," He heard the soft voice of his step-mother whom he really didn't want to talk to at the moment.

"What do you want?" he asked firmly, tempted to hang up on her, but knew he would hear it from his dad later.

"Well, Casey isn't answering my calls and I wanted to know if you could convince her to call me," she said.

_What nerve! _He wanted to yell at her but held back. "Why do you think she doesn't want to talk to you, Nora?" he said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, so she told you," she paused for a moment. "Well… Don't you think she's being a little over dramatic?"

"Over dramatic?" Derek spat. "You told her that ballet is a waste of time." He hoped she would get the concept of where he was going with his sentence.

"I didn't say exactly that," Nora said as if that were ridiculous.

"No, but you implied it," he was about ready to snap at her.

"Derek, I thought you would understand. She graduated from Harvard with a Bachelors degree, she could've went on to get her Masters, but instead she chose to become a ballet teacher. This road she chose has a dead-end," she said coldly.

He couldn't believe how unsupportive she was being. "Says you," he paused to heave a sigh. "Casey loves what she does for a living is that such a crime? Can you honestly say you love what you do for a living?"

Nora was silent.

"That's what I thought," Derek said almost in a whisper. "Listen, Casey is putting together a Christmas recital. I know it would mean a lot to her if you went." In saying that he hung up on her.

Derek went back to his writing and managed to forget about his unpleasant conversation with Nora. _I guess I am kind of lucky for having such a supportive mom and dad. _He thought with a smile. Then his gleam faded. _I feel bad for Casey, though. Now I understand why she is the way she is. _His brain was exhausted from the events which took place, so it was no surprise that he fell asleep with his notebook on his chest.

The door opened softly, in stepped Casey. She hung her coat on the hook next to the door along with her purse. She took off her heels which were killing her and walked into the living room. There Derek was sound asleep with his notebook and the TV on. She didn't realize it, but she was grinning. _He looks so content when he sleeps. _She gently took the notebook off his chest and placed it on the coffee table. She then retrieved a blanket from the hallway closet and covered him. For a moment, Casey had forgotten all about her date with Max, just by watching Derek sleep. She quickly snapped herself out of her daze. _Whoa there, Case. What are you doing? _She quickly, yet quietly walked to her room and closed the door.

Casey stayed at the studio after all her classes and private lessons were done. She was practicing her routine for the recital which was in a month and a half. As she was collaborating different ballet moves together she thought of Max which was completely throwing her off. Then out of the blue she began to think about Derek. _What the hell? _She stopped and paced back and forth looking down at her feet. _Casey, stop thinking about him. He's not the one who bought that dress, or took you out to a fancy dinner. He's not a complete gentleman like Max. _She thought as she continued to dance. _Wait a minute… That's it! _Casey found the missing steps to her choreography. She was so glad, she felt the giant weight on her shoulders subside. _Oh god… _She thought as her smile diminished. _It can't be…_

Derek had begun to record his song in the studio and so far Max liked it. Casey was rehearsing her choreography with her students, so they were both pretty busy as the weeks passed. But Derek's feelings for Casey never faded.

"Casey's been pretty busy lately, huh?" Max stated more than asked as they wrapped up their session in the studio.

Derek took off the headphones and walked into the control room with Max. "Yeah, she's been rehearsing for her recital," he replied.

Max stayed quiet with a plotful smile on his face.

"What do you want with her anyway, Miller?" Derek asked as he crossed his arms.

"Come on, Venturi. You get to have fun, why can't I for once?" he asked running his hand through his hair arrogantly.

"with Casey? Trust me she's not that kind of woman," Derek said confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" the producer inquired curiously.

"Because… I know what she's like. She's classy, a neat-freak, a perfectionist," he sat down.

"Are you trying to tell me that I'm not classy?"

"If the shoe fits," Derek had his classic smirk on his face.

"Listen, Venturi. I can and I will have Casey Mcdonald in my bed by her recital," Max said challengingly.

Derek just shook his head incredulously.

"What's wrong, Venturi? Afraid of a little wager?" Max asked tauntingly.

"Look there are a lot of things I'll wager on, but Casey isn't one of them," Derek said firmly. _There was that one time in high school, though. But that doesn't count. _He thought with a grin.

"Fine, I'll just do this one for fun," replied Max.

Derek shouldered his guitar and said before leaving, "Have fun."

Feeling a bit relieved that her recital was only a week and a half away, Casey walked through the door of the apartment. She just couldn't wait to get into the shower and freshen up. She had a hard rehearsal day. After her shower she sat down on the living room couch, she smiled, remembering how she couldn't operate the digital remote and now she was a pro at it. She turned on the TV and flipped through the channels.

"Hey," Derek came walking through the door. "Your home early."

"Well, actually, I'm home on time," she said with an amused look on her face.

He put his guitar down by the door and walked over to the living room. "Yeah, I guess." He looked at the TV screen, noting that she was watching 'CSI'. "So, I haven't seen you these past weeks, how's the recital coming along?" he asked seemingly genuinely concerned.

"It's coming along great, just basically putting the finishing touches," she replied. She was wearing some black valor sweatpants, a white t-shirt, her pink slippers and a light pink large cardigan sweater. Her hair was down, flowing in it's natural wave.

"Good," was all Derek said as he plopped himself down on the couch. There was a short silence as they both watched a commercial on the movie _King Kong_. They saw the giant gorilla climbing the Empire state building.

"You know, as long as I've lived here, I've never been there," Casey said beginning to flip through the channels again.

Puzzled, Derek asked, "The Empire State Building?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I've just been so caught up in my work at the studio."

He stood abruptly and put on his leather jacket, gloves and hat. "Come on, let's go."

"What?" She asked quite boggled.

"Get your coat on we're leaving," he said more demandingly this time.

"But,"

He interrupted her, "Now, Casey."

Her jaw locked shut as she went to grab her jacket and gloves. "Okay, you're not taking me where I think your taking me. Are you?" She asked as she zipped up.

Derek stayed quiet and held the door open for her to walk out. She did and was surprised at his chivalry.

A taxi ride later, Derek and Casey stood in front of the tall historical land mark. Casey glanced at Derek with a smile, like she was a little school girl again. That made him smile also.

"Well, here we are," Derek said with a sigh. "Shall we go up?"

Before he could finish his sentence she was pulling him through the doors of the incredibly tall building. Soon they were in the elevator, very much excited.

"I can't believe we're actually here, Derek," Casey said as they reached the observatory of the twelve hundred fifty foot tall building. The elevator doors parted and the two walked out. Casey seemed to have caught her breath in her throat as she looked out upon the amazing view of the city. Millions of little lights shone through the darkness of the night. Lady luck was on their side because it wasn't all that windy.

"This is…" Casey trailed off. "Beautiful," she said in a weak tone of voice.

Derek wanted to say, _You're beautiful. _He held back. "Yeah, it's pretty great." He just couldn't take his eyes off her.

"You didn't have to do this," she glanced at him, she still had that school girl smile on her lovely features.

"We can leave if you want," he said jokingly.

"No," she said abruptly. "You just didn't have to do this," she smiled.

"I know, but I figured, what the hell," he was trying to keep his cool, when all he really wanted to do was freak out and tell her how he felt. _No, I'm Derek Venturi, I don't freak out._ He looked back at her only to feel his heart melt again. _Dammit, Venturi, you are such a sap. _

In the time that they stood there overlooking the city, Casey snuck her hands around Derek's waist in a sincere and intimate hug. He was completely caught off guard. _What do I do? Hug her back? Push her away? _Derek thought a bit panicked. _Hug her back you imbecile. _His conscience told him. So he wrapped his arms around her loosely.

"I've been wanting to tell you something," she said as she pulled away and gazed straight into his eyes.

"Okay," Derek wanted to run away, but he also wondered what she wanted to tell him. "I'm all ears."

She heaved a deep sigh.

Derek didn't know it, but the next words that would come out of her mouth would take him by surprise.

**AAA**

**A/N: This is one of my shorter chapters. I just thought I'd spice it up a bit :D I hope you like it. I'm always open to suggestions.**


	7. Can She Handle The Truth?

**A/N: Okay so this chapter is even shorter than the previous one, bear with me. I hope you all like it! **

**Special Thank you's to: Beepersheartsbrucas, Lanter, Laura Ferrari. Let's just put it this way, your reviews stood out. In a good way of course. **

**Thank you to everyone else that reviewed and please keep reviewing! Okay on with the story...**

* * *

**AAA**

"I just…" Casey was obviously having a hard time saying what she wanted to say.

Derek prodded her a bit, "Come on, Case, spit it out."

She replied in annoyance, "I'm trying." She turned around to gaze out at the city again. She then turned back to him seemingly ready to tell him. "Okay, I just wanted to tell you that,"

She was interrupted by the ringing of Derek's cell phone. _Shit, why now? _He reached in his pocket and pulled the flip phone out and looked to see who was calling. It was Kendra. _I'll just call her back later… _he thought. _No then she'll freak out and I don't want to deal with her attitude. _"It's Kendra…" Derek told her.

Casey nodded. "Answer it, she's your girlfriend." It almost sounded like sarcasm, mixed with jealousy as she said that.

Derek turned away from Casey and answered his phone. "Hello?"

"Did you forget about our dinner tonight, Derry?" Kendra's upset voice was heard on the other end.

"No, of course not," He lied.

"You're lying," she exclaimed.

"Babe, calm down, please. You know I've been recording my new song, I'm sorry," he said in a fake sincerity.

Casey couldn't help but to roll her eyes in disgust.

"Look, we'll do dinner tomorrow," Derek promised her.

There was a long silence before Kendra answered, "Well… Alright, you better not forget. Pick me up at six." In saying that she hung up.

He sighed as he flipped the phone shut and put it back in his pocket. He turned back to Casey and asked, "Okay, so what did you want to tell me?"

She smiled and replied, "I just wanted to thank you, for everything. I really appreciate you taking me in."

He nodded a little bewildered and a bit disappointed at her response, but he really shouldn't have been disappointed. Casey very rarely ever thanked him for anything. "You're welcome, Case," He replied putting on a fake smile for her. He really thought she was going to admit how she felt about him, so it would give him an excuse to tell her how he felt. Oh well… Whatever…

"We should get home, the wind is starting to pick up," Casey said as she made her way to the elevator.

Derek followed. _Damn, what if she doesn't feel the same as I do? _He thought sadly. They made their way out of the Empire State Building and whistled for a taxi.

The car ride was silent all the way home.

As they walked through Derek's apartment door, he couldn't help but to ask, "So what's going on with you and Max anyway?"

She took off her jacket and hung it up. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said bitterly.

"Whoa, no need to snap at me like that," he rose his voice at her. "I was just asking."

Casey walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Well if you must know, we're seriously thinking about becoming exclusive."

He laughed. "Are you serious? Max cannot stay exclusive with one woman, trust me."

"There you go being all negative again," she rose to her feet and walked up to him. "Why can't you for once be happy for me?"

"Because I know him, Casey," He replied not backing away from her. "He's just gonna use you."

She frowned. "Why should I believe you?" She paused. "Knowing you, you're probably jealous of him."

"Why do you always have to blow things out of proportion? What if I'm just looking out for you?" he asked lowering his voice.

She scoffed. "That'll be the day." She then stormed off to her room and yep you guessed it slammed the door.

The weekend soon came and Max had invited Casey over to his apartment, just the two of them. She had to admit, in the beginning he was quite entertaining, but towards the end of that Saturday night she began to become bored.

As the two sat in front of the fireplace in his large living room, Casey sipped on a martini which Max conjured up himself. It wasn't bad.

"So I've been meaning to ask you something," Max said as he put his martini glass down on his black coffee table.

"Okay," Casey sat on the couch her legs crossed and a martini glass in her left hand.

"So we've been seeing each other a lot these past few weeks. I just think it's time to take 'us' to the next step," he took out a small black box and opened it revealing it's contents. "I would love for us to be exclusive," he said seemingly sincere.

Casey couldn't help but think how cute he was as he sat there with that box in his hand. The diamond necklace was beautiful also. Now how could she say no to jewelry? She didn't give herself enough time to second think before she said, "I would love that also." She put the martini glass down and wrapped her arms around him and kissed his lips. Max then took out the necklace and put it around her neck. It was a white gold chain with a tear drop diamond hanging off it. So exquisite.

"This means so much to me, Casey," Max said, then he gently kissed her and leaned in to her, forcing her to lay down on the couch.

She stopped him. "It means a lot to me too, but not that much," she said pushing him off.

"What's wrong, babe?" he asked her curiously.

"Nothing, I just think we're going too fast," she said as she crossed her arms. "Let's use our time to get to know each other better, not for… you know."

He nodded. "Okay, if that's what you want."

"It's what I want," she sat back down beside him and couldn't help but notice an annoyed look on his face. Which bugged the crap out of her. What if Derek was right about him? Then again what if he wasn't? She really didn't take it to heart and she trusted herself to stay strong.

Meanwhile as Derek decided to have Kendra over to watch a movie and spend quality time together. As the couple cuddled together on the couch watching _Casino Royale_ for the millionth time, Derek thought, _Kendra and I make more sense than Casey and I. People accept us… _he wasn't really watching the movie he was staring at his super model girlfriend. _I would have the perfect life with her if I married Kendra. Now Casey on the other hand… _He looked away from Kendra and sighed. _We would never be accepted, _he thought bittersweetly.

"Derry, are you even watching the movie?" Kendra asked fretfully.

He glanced at her, then at the TV screen, then back at her. "I'm sorry, babe, I've just,"

She cut him off, "Had a lot on your mind lately."

"Yeah," he replied.

"You're not still infatuated with Casey are you?" She asked in a stern tone of voice.

"No," He replied trying to hide his nervousness with a chuckle.

"Good, how much longer is she going to stay here?"

He shrugged. "I guess until her apartment is fully repaired."

At that moment the ending credits to the movie began to play and Kendra glanced at her watch. "Well, I have to go."

"So soon?" Derek tried to act disappointed, but that wasn't going so well for him.

"Yes, I have a photo shoot early in the morning," she replied as she slipped on her boots. She then kissed her 'Derry' good-bye and walked out of the apartment.

Derek plopped himself down on his couch and cupped his hands to his face in frustration and bewilderment. _Kendra is so perfect, why don't I love her? _He wanted to knock himself over the head with his very expensive brandy bottle, but he refrained. His phone started to ring, but he was too lazy to get up and answer the damn thing so he let his answering machine do all the work.

It rang a few more times before his automated self came on, "Hey you've reached Derek Venturi, leave a message and I'll get back to you." It was simple and he wasn't one to make things more elaborate than they should be.

"Hello, This is Delilah Lilac, calling for Casey Mcdonald." He heard the soft young woman's voice mumble, "I hope this is the right number." She went on, "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that your apartment is ready for you. You can move in as soon as tomorrow if you'd like, call me back when you get this message." The machine then 'beeped' and stopped recording as the caller hung up.

_What?! No, she can't go home already… _Derek stood up and walked over to the answering machine which was on his mini bar and listened to the message once more. _Just erase the message, Venturi, and you'll have her longer. _He heard that annoying voice in his head again. _But that's so sneaky and who's to say she won't call Casey's cell phone? _Derek paced back and forth, to and from his answering machine. _Who's to say she will call Casey's cell phone? _He stopped in the middle of his living room, turned his head to look at the machine sitting there on his bar. He walked over and pressed the erase button.

"There are zero messages," said the automated voice.

Derek relaxed a bit and sat back down on his couch, but his tranquil mood came too soon for Casey came through the door. He sprung to his feet trying not to be so on-edge. "Hey, you're home early," he said putting his hands in his jean pockets.

"And? You care why?" She asked after hanging up her jacket.

"I don't, I was just saying…" he trailed of to begin another sentence, "So! How was your date with Max?"

"It went well," she smiled.

Derek then spotted the flashy necklace around her neck and immediately his heart sunk into his stomach. "What's that?" He tried to ask casually.

"This is what you call a necklace, Derek," she said half-jokingly.

"Yeah, I got that, but…" he stopped trying to find the words. "You know what I'm trying to say," he stated firmly.

"He wanted it to be official." She said seemingly animatedly. "We're exclusive!"

Derek stood there both in shock and disbelief. _Casey is being so gullible to his fake charm. I know if I tell her the truth she won't believe me. _He thought as he just stood there in front of her.

"Derek?" Casey took him out of his trance. "Aren't you gonna say something?"

"Yeah, I'm happy for you, Case," he said in a fake up beat tone of voice.

"Do you have a problem with Max and I?" Casey asked concernly.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Come on, Case… You know me better than that." With that he headed to his room and closed the door behind him.

Casey sighed. Why did it bother her that Derek had a problem with her and Max? _Duh, maybe because… _She cut off the thought. _Whatever… Max is perfect for me, he's rich, incredibly cute and he knows how to treat a lady. _At least that's what she thought. She didn't really get Max yet, after all she had only met him a month or so ago. She walked into her room, put on her pajama's and laid in bed. It took her a few minutes to finally fall asleep.

As the recital day came closer, Casey and Max hung out more and more each passing day. Derek knew what was in Max' sleeve and yet he couldn't bring himself to tell Casey. He sat at the island in the kitchen knowing that Casey was going to her boyfriends apartment that night. _Okay, Derek, tell her so she can decide whether to believe you or not. _His conscience told him. He stood confidently and ambulated over to Casey's room, the door was open so he walked in and saw her styling her hair in the bathroom. _God that asshole doesn't deserve you. _He thought as he approached her.

"Hey, Case, can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked coolly, leaning against the doorpost.

"Sure," she glanced at him, then she turned back to herself in the mirror.

He just gazed at her. For some reason the words wouldn't come out of his mouth. He could picture her getting mad at him for meddling. He could picture her not believing him, he could picture her sleeping with Max just to spite him… _What're you gonna do, Venturi? _


	8. Surprise Surprise

* * *

Apparently Casey became annoyed by Derek's constant staring so she said, "Are you gonna talk or just stare at me until I leave?"

He managed to reply, "No…" he paused. "I have to talk to you about Max."

"Okay," Casey cocked an eyebrow at him questioningly.

His lack of words was beginning to get exasperating. _Just come out and say it, Venturi. _The voice in his head told him. "Max just wants to get in your pants," he stated bluntly.

She kept that questioning look on her face.

Derek couldn't tell whether she was angry or sad or anything.

"How do you know?" She gave him a sidelong look.

"He told me a while back, when we were in the studio," Derek replied a bit hesitantly.

Casey finished styling her hair and added some finishing touches on it which was hairspray. She then turned to him and said, "I'll most likely be home late." She then walked passed him, barely grazing her body against his.

_She doesn't believe me… _Derek thought upsettedly. _That or she wants to be fucked by your producer. _The voice in his head added. He shook the thought out of his mind. He couldn't bare to think of Casey and Max… _No, no, stop it, Venturi. You know her better than Max, do you really think she's that stupid? _Derek was beginning to lose all his confidence in Casey. He walked into the living room, sat down and turned on the TV, staring blankly at the screen. An hour passed as the voice began to taunt him again. _He's probably making her moan his name right now. _Derek clenched his fists angrily. _He's probably penetrating her deep, making her scream. _He sat up and leaned his elbows on his knees cracking his knuckles. He then went over to his bar and took a shot of vodka. _His hands are touching her in different places, making her crazy. _Derek took another shot. A few more hours had passed and Derek still had his shot glass in hand, but he was not drunk. Maybe a little buzzed. _He's made her orgasm so many times already, _he heard that fucking voice again. He became so enraged with anger that he threw the shot glass against the wall, shattering it to pieces.

Just then his apartment door bursted opened and in walked Casey evidently upset. Derek heard her walk into the kitchen, the fridge opened, then closed. He figured she retrieved a bottled water, then he heard the guest room door slam shut. He stumbled to his feet and walked over to her room and knocked on the door.

"Go away, Derek," Her voice was cracking. It sounded like she was crying.

"Case, are you okay?" He ignored her earlier response and let himself into her room. She was sitting on the bed, tears streaming down her cheeks, mascara running and yet he thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. "What happened? Did he hurt you?" Derek asked sternly. "I swear to god if he hurt you,"

"No," Casey said upsettedly. She wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. "Don't worry about it, okay?!" She screamed at him.

"Please, just tell me if he hurt you so I can thoroughly kick his ass," Derek said sitting next to her on the bed.

"Yes he hurt me, okay? But not in the way you think," She replied. There was so much pain in her eyes.

"Case, what,"

She stood up and exclaimed both in frustration and anger, "God, Derek, what do you want me to say?!" She flung her arms around wildly.

He stayed silent.

She gazed at him with puffy, red eyes. "You were right, okay?! Is that what you fucking want to hear? Well, I said it, now go and bask in your triumph!"

Derek stood and stepped closer to her.

" **Don't **try to comfort me, okay? Just get out," she said in a raspy voice.

"Case, I'm,"

"Get out!" She screamed and pointed to the door.

He nodded and walked out. _Man, I thought I was back in high school for a moment there. _Derek thought as he reminisced on all the times Casey blew up at him. By far this was the worst blow up ever. All that anger and pain he saw in her eyes scared him.

As Casey changed into her pajamas, she thought, _I really thought Max was the one. _She slipped under the covers of the firm bed she had gotten used to. _Why does Derek always have to be right. _Casey was a bit befuddled as she thought, _I don't know what makes me more upset. The fact that Max just wanted to fuck me or the fact that Derek was right, again. _Her thoughts then shifted to her recital which was only a few days away. _Come on, Mcdonald, get it together…_

The following day at the studio after hours of recording, Max decided to wrap it up for the day. That whole day, Max seemed a bit moody. Derek knew exactly why too. _He didn't get any from Casey, _Derek chanted in his head.

"So, I guess technically I won your little wager, Miller," Derek walked into the control room with a smirk on his face.

Max spun around in his seat to face the rock star. "What are you talking about, Venturi?" he asked in sarcasm.

"Oh come on, just admit it. I was right about Casey," Derek said arrogantly.

The producer glared at him. "Fine, you were right about her." There was a brief silence as Max turned back around to face the controls. "God, Derek, She's such an icy bitch, I can see why you two hate each other."

The rock star's eyes widened in anger. "Hey, don't call her that, she is **not **an icy bitch. She can just tell when she sees an asshole." He clasped his hands together.

"An asshole huh?" Max glanced back at Derek. "I guess that's why she hates you too, right?"

"What're you talking about?" Derek tried to act clueless.

"Derek," Max stopped fiddling with the controls for a moment and looked at him again. "Derek, Derek, Derek, don't think that I can't see what's going on here."

"Okay?"

"You've developed feelings for your step-sister," Max turned back to his control panel and went on, "How will Kendra react to this? More importantly, how will your family react? Do you honestly think they'll accept you two?"

Like Derek hadn't already been thinking about that. That's one of the reasons why he hadn't told Casey about his feelings. He just wanted life to stay simple, but then again he wanted Casey. Boy did he want Casey more than ever. But like that saying 'You can't have your cake and eat it too'. The rock star just stayed quiet and walked out. He really wanted to punch Max in his face at the moment, but he held back for the sake of his music.

Meanwhile Casey was giving a private lesson to her pupil Monica, but she seemed very distracted. She was doing the movements with Monica, but her mind was some where else.

"Miss Mcdonald, Miss Mcdonald," The little girl tugged on Casey's hand.

"Huh?" Casey snapped out of her daze.

"We've been doing degage's for the passed half hour. Don't you think it's time to cool down now and stretch?" Monica asked in amusement.

Casey smiled and was of course a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, we should." They sat on the studio floor and did the splits.

"You seem out of it today," Monica stated as she followed Casey's graceful arm movements.

"I've had a rough week, with the recital and everything," The teacher replied quickly.

"So Derek has nothing to do with it then?"

Casey smiled at the young child. Apparently she underestimated Monica. "What makes you say that?"

Grinning, the pupil shrugged. "No, reason, it's just… You talk about him a lot in class. 'Derek this, Derek that'."

"I know, I'm sorry, it's just that he just makes me so angry that I can't help but to talk about him," Casey replied.

At this point the two were standing on their feet, touching their toes. "Yeah, well my mom says that if you talk about a boy **too **much it means you like him," Monica said innocently.

Casey laughed. "Me like Derek? That's absurd."

The young girl looked Casey square in the eyes and said as she rose an eye brow, "Is it now?"

Just then Monica's mom came through the glass door.

Casey and her pupil did the last part of their floor routine. "Alright, Monica, you better go. I don't wanna keep your mom waiting," said Casey.

"Okay," the young girl grabbed her ballet bag and put on warm clothes over her leotard. "I'll see you at the dress rehearsal tomorrow, Miss Mcdonald," Monica waved.

Casey waved back. "See you and remember practice your jete's please."

"Alright," and with that Monica and her mother walked out of the studio.

Placing her hands on her hips, Casey began to pace around in deep contemplation. _Okay, recital is in two days, just breath, Mcdonald. _She thought inhaling, then exhaling slowly. She stared at herself in the mirror. Though she couldn't put her finger on it, she noticed something in her eyes. A sparkle maybe? Laughing inwardly Casey kept pacing before gracefully doing a pirouette. _You're losing your mind. Living with Derek has officially driven you insane… Again. _Her thoughts shifted to Max and for some reason she just wasn't as torn up about him as she was before. _Well I've only known him a short time and not like I had sex with him or anything. _She brought her leg straight up to her head stretching out a bit. _God, stop thinking, Mcdonald…_

The day of the recital Casey was a hot mess. She was running around the apartment looking for last minute things, luckily Derek was there to calm her down. He had put on one of his best suits for the event and boy did he look scrumptious. Casey wasn't in her costume yet, it was at the theater waiting for her and they hadn't left the apartment.

"Oh my god, Derek, we should've left like thirty minutes ago, have you seen my other boot?" Casey asked very much panicked as well as nervous.

With a smile, the handsome rock star grabbed her by her arms firmly and gazed straight into her eyes. "Hey, do me a favor and just breath."

Casey did in a very ungraceful manner, which amused Derek even more. "Now I remember." She ran into the laundry room and there sat her missing boot on top of the washer. She hopped to the door simultaneously slipping her beige suede boot on. _God, I'm gonna be late for my own recital. _She thought as they quickly walked into the elevator.

Casey McDonald's recital was being held at one of the smaller theaters of New York. She didn't mind, it was a theater. She was fortunate enough to even reserve such a nice elegant theater. She was backstage watching the crowd of people flock to their seats. She glanced over at the front row and saw Derek, he had his trademark smile on his handsome features.

Derek sat in his seat and his body guard, Bruno, joined him, sitting on the left of the rock star. Hey, he was considered a celebrity so he had to take some much needed precautions. Bruno was a very large Samoan with an afro, wearing a black suit.

"Why are you watching a ballet again?" Bruno asked as he refused to take off his sunglasses. He was afraid that someone might recognize him.

"My step-sister put together this play, I'm just here to support her," Derek replied simply.

The large man nodded as he fidgeted in his seat.

Derek glanced at his watch and it was nearly time, he didn't know why but he was nervous for Casey. _She's gonna be great, Venturi, why are you nervous? _He asked himself.

Soon enough the theater lights dimmed to darkness, the stage lights gradually ascended to it's brightest and the music of Tchaikovsky played. As the first performance of the Nutcracker took place, Derek couldn't help but enjoy it. The female dancers- in his opinion- were hot. Casey had yet to perform. He looked at the program and noticed that she was doing a solo ballet choreography after the _Waltz of the Flowers_ performance.

Forty-five minutes had passed and the last number was up. Casey paced back and forth shaking her hands nervously. _Oh god, oh god, I should have practiced more. I don't think I'm ready for this. _She put her hand to her stomach. _God, I'm gonna throw up._

"Casey," A familiar voice caught her ears.

She turned around towards the stage door and saw her mother standing there in a nice dress and jacket. Her hair was even curled nicely. "Mom," Casey was overwhelmed with emotion as she approached Nora.

"Hey, honey," Nora said gently and obtained a meaningful hug from her daughter.

"Mom, what're you doing here?" Casey asked more surprised than anything. She could hear the music of the last performance coming to an end.

"I'm sorry, Case," Nora said sincerely.

That's when Casey could feel a frog in her throat again. She was so touched that her mother traveled all the way from Canada, just to see her dance. They stared in to each others eyes and the ballet teacher knew how sincere her mother was. There was a tear rolling down Nora's rosy cheek.

"You should go sit down, mom. I'm up next," Casey said as she began to walk away.

"Casey."

She stopped and looked at her mom. "Yeah?"

"I **am** proud of you," Nora smiled at her daughter.

Casey smiled, she could feel the tears of happiness welling up in her eyes. The only reason she held back was because she didn't want to ruin her make-up. _She came, I can't believe she came… _Casey took center stage and posed gracefully waiting for the music to start.

Her movements were graceful as she moved around the stage to the music. She was on her toes almost the whole time. She wasn't so nervous anymore, she felt as if she were alone on that stage. It was just her and the music.

**If I had to  
I would put myself right beside you  
So let me ask  
Would you like that?  
Would you like that?**

She was so lost in the music and the lyrics of the song. Her long black sleeveless dress flowed with her graceful movements and her long brown hair was down in it's natural wavy splendor.

**And I don't mind  
If you say this love is the last time  
So now I'll ask  
Do you like that?  
Do you like that?**

She had abandon all her problems of Max, her apartment. She focused on the present moment and became so lost in her movements.

**No**

**Something's getting in the way  
Something's just about to break  
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane  
So tell me how it should be**

**Try to find out what makes you tick  
As I lie down  
Sore and sick  
Do you like that?  
Do you like that?**

**There's a fine line between love and hate  
And I don't mind  
Just let me say that I like that  
I like that  
**The lights in the background began to change colors at this point.

**Something's getting in the way  
Something's just about to break  
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane  
As I burn another page  
As I look the other way  
I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane  
So tell me how it should be**

**Desperate, I will crawl  
Waiting for so long  
No love, there is no love  
Die for anyone  
What have I become**

**Something's getting in the way  
Something's just about to break  
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane  
As I burn another page  
As I look the other way  
I still try to find my place  
In the diary of Jane**

The music stopped as Casey's movements stopped as she held her ending pose. The whole theater was silent as she stood there panting and sweating from the intense movements of her choreography. A few seconds had passed before the on lookers began to applaud and cheer. She still had a smile on her face as she took a bow. Roses were then being thrown at her feet which took her by surprise. She then cued all her students to walk out onto the stage and they all took their bows. Derek with the whole audience stood and applauded them. Even Bruno enjoyed it, though he would never admit it.

Back stage as Casey talked to some of the parents of her students, Derek interrupted politely. He had a dozen white tulips in his hand.

"Hey, Case," he hugged her tightly. "You were great, all your students were."

She smiled. "Thank's, Derek."

"Here," he gave her the flowers.

"Aw… Thanks."

Nora then walked up to the two, she hugged Derek, then she hugged Casey and said, "You look beautiful, sweetie. And you were great."

"Thanks, mom."

There was an awkward silence before Derek said, "Well, I'm gonna go now, I'll see you back at the apartment?"

"Yeah," Casey replied.

He walked away waving at the two women. _I hope they don't end up killing each other. _He thought in amusement.

"So, are you hungry?" Nora asked curiously.

Casey nodded. "Starving."

"Let's go eat," the mom said as Casey checked all the rooms to see if everyone was gone. She then turned off all the lights.

"Okay, let me just tell the owner of the theater that I'm leaving so he can lock up," Casey replied.

Nora nodded. "I'll wait for you out front."

Casey couldn't help but to be suspicious. She hadn't even told her mom about the recital. The only logical explanation to how Nora found out was… _Derek…_But that meant that he actually cared about someone other than himself. _Wow, Derek, you never cease to surprise me…_

* * *

**A/N: The end...**

**LOL jk... You should've seen the look on your faces! Wait nevermind... Should have the next chapter up shortly. **


	9. Merry Christmas

**A/N: Haha! Sorry about the last chapter, I guess I shouldn't have scared my readers like that. But it's just so darn funny! Anyway, someone asked what song I used in the last chapter for Casey's little Choreography it's called Diary of Jane by Breaking Benjamins. Enjoy!**

* * *

Nora and Casey hopped into a taxi and traveled thirty minutes or so to a cozy little burger joint in New York. They sat across from each other in a booth by the window. The waitress came and took their order. Casey ordered a salad and a hot chocolate and Nora ordered a veggie burger, fries and hot green tea.

"I see you still eat the same," Nora said in amusement.

"Yeah," Casey nodded. "I kind of cheated though, cuz I ordered a hot chocolate. Do you know how many calories a cup of hot chocolate has?"

Nora replied, "I can imagine…" She then changed the subject, "So how's living with Derek been?"

"Good, we haven't been fighting that much anymore," Casey answered her mother. "How's George, Edwin, Liz and Marti?"

"Their good. Edwin and Marti are spending Christmas with Abby this year and Liz is spending the holiday with your father," Nora said briefly.

Casey nodded. "Aw… So you and George get to spend a romantic Christmas together?"

"Hardly romantic I assure you. His idea of romance is ordering pizza and watching hockey together," Nora laughed.

Casey chuckled and said, "I'm sure he has something more special than that."

"I hope so."

The waitress walked up to the mother and daughter and served them their hot liquids. They bother thanked her and she walked away.

"I was really surprised that you came, mom," Casey stated after sipping hot chocolate.

"Really?" Nora seemed to think that was a bad thing.

"I'm glad you came," the daughter looked lovingly at her mother. "It really meant a lot to me. Knowing that you were there watching me."

Nora glanced down into her tea cup, then back at her daughter. "I'm sorry I never showed support for you, Case." There was a brief silence. "Every mother wants nothing but the best for their daughter. That's why I always pushed you in school, I wanted you to become a high paying lawyer or doctor."

Casey nodded understandingly. "I know, mom."

"But… Now that I look at you. I know that you've done better than I expected. You have your own ballet studio, loyal students and to top it all off you love what you do," Nora gazed into her eyes. "I honestly cannot say that I love my job, Case. I didn't mean what I said that night we talked. I guess… I just envied you."

"Mom, please don't envy me. I should be envying you, you and George will be retiring soon," Casey said half-jokingly.

Nora just laughed and didn't say anything more.

"So, how long are you staying in New York, mom?" Casey asked curiously.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Why?" Casey asked, she wanted her mom to stay longer.

"George is home all alone, I felt bad leaving him, but I knew I just had to be here to witness that stunning performance you just gave," Nora replied. "I know if I don't go back home soon, he'll burn the house down." They both laughed.

Their waitress soon brought their food and the two just sat their dining and enjoying each others company. Casey didn't know how much she missed her mom until that night. It made her feel incredibly relieved and happy when Nora apologized.

"Hey, mom."

Nora took a sip of her tea. "Yes, sweetie?"

"I never told you about the recital," she stated.

"No, you didn't." Nora had a sly look in her eyes.

"Mom, who told you?" Casey wasn't mad she was just curious, although it was pretty obvious who the culprit was.

"Derek," Nora answered. "He's responsible for this whole thing."

Casey's eyes widened. "What? You mean he's the one who flew you out here?"

The mom nodded taking another sip of her tea. "George and I don't have that kind of money, you should know that."

"That's so unlike Derek, though, mom." Casey slumped down in her seat in thought. "He's not expecting anything back from you is he?"

"No." Nora replied. "You don't think that he did it out of the goodness of his heart?"

Casey began to laugh, but then she saw the serious look on her mom's face. "Oh, you were serious."

"Casey, I know it's hard to believe, but he care's about you." Nora smiled. "More than you know."

"Yeah, whatever you say, mom." Casey said in sarcasm. "You ready to go? Where are you staying?"

"That hotel near the airport, it's really nice," Nora replied.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay at Derek's apartment? I'd be more than willing to give up the guest bed," Casey said as they paid for their food.

"No, I wouldn't want to impose,"

Casey interrupted, "You won't be and Derek won't care."

"Well if you insist," Nora finally gave in. "But my stuff is still at the hotel."

The daughter was quite excited as she said, "Don't worry, I'll go with you to pick it up."

Meanwhile Derek sat on his couch at the apartment watching TV when he received a phone call. To his surprise it was a long time friend and band mate, Sam.

"Dude, wow, it's been so long since we've talked," Derek said obviously glad to hear his former best friends voice.

"Yeah, I know, I've just been busy with the family. Three boys are a handful, you know," Sam said his voice full of amusement.

"I can imagine, my parents could barely handle me and Edwin," Derek replied as he surfed through the channels on TV.

Sam laughed. "So how's the rock star life?"

"It's great, I'm recording a new song. That should be out after the new year," Derek replied, he stood up and walked over to the kitchen. "You remember my step-sister, Casey right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, she's living with me, cuz her apartment flooded," Derek went over to the fridge and scanned it's contents.

"How's that going for you?" Sam asked curiously.

"Surprisingly well," he said that as if he were surprised himself.

"You still with Kendra?"

Derek grabbed a water from the fridge and replied, "Yeah, we're still together." _Unfortunately._

There was a brief pause in their conversation before Sam said, "Derek, seriously dude, when are you gonna settle down?"

Derek laughed, "Are you serious, Sam?"

"Yeah, you may not believe it, but I worry about you. I have a family, Ralph has a family. You're the last one and have yet to start one." Sam said.

"Yeah, well… I don't really think Kendra's the marrying type," Derek lied.

"Has the subject come up between you two?"

Derek took a gulp of his water and replied, "Maybe once or twice."

There was another silence.

"Okay, so she talks about it all the time," Derek said quickly.

"So, what's the problem?"

Sighing Derek thought, _the problem is I'm in love with Casey. _"I don't know, man."

"I think you're just afraid of commitment. Need I remind you that you're in your late twenties? You can't keep this lifestyle up forever," Sam said seriously.

_I hate when he's right. _"Dude, I know," Derek replied in exasperation.

"Then what're you waiting for?"

The rock star stayed quiet for a moment. "You remember when you and Ralph sat me down and told me that you two were quitting because you two met someone?"

"Yeah?"

"You were in love with Angie, right?" Derek asked.

"Yeah…"

"And Ralph was in love with Lana, right?"

Sam then asked, "Are you trying to tell me that you're not in love with that gorgeous super model?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but no I'm not," Derek sat down at the island and leaned over on his elbows.

"Okay, so who are you in love with?"

Another elongated silence took place before Derek answered, "Don't worry about it, man." He sounded kind of depressed.

"Oh, well…" Suddenly Derek could hear Sam's little boy in the back ground, "Daddy, daddy! Andrew made me fall down the stairs!" The little boy sounded upset. Sam then told Derek to hold on. "Andy, you're in trouble!" Derek then heard an older voice say, "I didn't push him, dad! He fell all by himself." The smaller voice shouted. "Nuh-uh, liar, liar pants on fire!" The older voice responded, "Come here I'll set your pants on fire." Sam upsettedly said, "Hey! Boys!" He turned his attention back to Derek and said, "Hey, dude, I gotta go."

Very much amused Derek replied, "Alright, Later."

About thirty minutes passed until he heard his front door open, then he heard Casey's voice, "Derek, you home?"

He walked out to the living room and noticed Nora standing there, "Hey, Nora." He greeted her with a hug.

"My mom's staying the night, I hope you don't mind, but I couldn't just let her stay alone in that hotel," Casey said putting her arms around Nora.

Grinning, Derek replied, "Of course I don't mind."

"Cool," Casey said excitedly. "Well, my mom's gonna sleep in the guest room and I'm taking the couch."

Derek shook his head in a 'no' motion and said, "No, you're sleeping on my bed and I'll take the couch."

Nora and Casey both looked at him in surprise. "Are you sure? Cuz, I really don't mind sleeping on the couch," Casey said as she picked up her mom's bag.

"I'm positive," He replied firmly.

"Okay, well, thanks, Derek," Casey then turned to her mom and said, "Mom, why don't you go into the kitchen and heat up some green tea. I have to get your bed ready."

"Sounds, good," Nora replied as she rubbed her hands together for warmth.

"I'll help you, Nora," Derek then took his step-mom into the kitchen and took the kettle out. Casey was in the guestroom making things cozy for her mom.

"That was really sweet of you to give Casey your bed, Derek," Nora said as she filled up the tea kettle with water.

He shrugged. "It's only for tonight."

Nora seemed to study him for a moment as she put the kettle on the stove and turned on the fire. She looked away and smiled. "I'm glad to see you two getting along so well. Why couldn't you guys act like this while you were living with us in Canada?"

Derek laughed. "What fun would that have been?"

Nora hit him playfully.

After the three had tea, well except for Derek, he wasn't much of a tea fan so he just had a cup of hot chocolate, Casey helped her mom get tucked into bed and changed into her purple fleece pajamas. She then retrieved two pillows a sheet and a warm blanket from the linen closet and began to make the couch for Derek.

He walked into the living room wearing a t-shirt and plaid fleece pajama bottoms. "Case, I could've done that," he said as he helped her smooth out the sheet on the couch.

"I know, but I do it better," Casey said with a crafty smile on her face.

"Do you now?" Derek gazed at her intensely with the same crafty smile on his face.

Casey didn't know what it was, but she began to get warm. She reached for the blanket the same time Derek did and their hands touched. They gazed into each others eyes, unaware of how close they were getting. He still had her hand in his.

"Derek…" She said in a tone of voice he could barely hear.

"Casey," he said softly.

"You can let go of my hand now," she said as she broke their gaze upon each other.

"Sorry," he let go and stepped away from her.

_Wow, awkward. _Casey thought as she finished making the couch. "Well, good night," she said and quickly retreated to his bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Derek plopped himself on the couch and thought, _God, Venturi, you are so stupid. You should've just kissed her. Stupid, stupid, stupid. _He fell asleep mentally beating himself up.

The next day at the airport, Casey hugged her mother good-bye, followed by Derek's hug. The ballet teacher was really sad to see her mom leave.

"Say hi to George for me," Casey said hugging her mom once more. They were standing in the loby of the airport waiting for Nora's flight to come up on the screen.

"Yeah say hi to my dad for me too," Derek said.

"Alright, kids." The mom looked as if she were going to cry, but held back. She then heard her flight being called. "That's me, I'll call you as soon as I get home," Nora began to walk away. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Casey and Derek exclaimed in unison. They walked out of the airport and hopped into the waiting limousine.

The ride home started out quiet until Derek broke the silence with a question, "So, Case, Christmas is in a few days, what do you want to do?"

She was looking out the window with a blank expression on her features. "You mean you don't have plans with Kendra?"

Derek shook his head, "Nope, I'm all yours."

She laughed and answered his first question, "I don't know."

"You wanna go out for dinner?" he asked as he slumped down into his seat more.

"No, how about we cook dinner?" She suggested with a smile.

"Together?" He asked nervously. He wasn't much of a chef.

"Yeah," Casey said slowly. She gazed at him questioningly.

He nodded a bit hesitantly. "Okay, but have the fire department on speed dial," he laughed, she joined him genuinely amused.

Christmas day soon came, Casey had decorated the apartment and even bought a fairly large Christmas tree, she put it in the corner of the living room. She was very much in the holiday spirit. She walked through the door with a grocery bag in hand, she then smelled something burning. She walked into the kitchen and saw Derek with a fire extinguisher, blowing out a fire on the stove. He then looked at her innocently.

"Hey, Case," he said a bit afraid of her reaction. "I kind of burned the turkey stuffing," he said putting his hand up defensively.

Casey put the bag down on the counter and exclaimed, "Oh my god, Derek, you are like so inept!" She grabbed a towel and then grabbed the pot handle of the burnt stuffing and put it in the sink. "I leave for thirty minutes and you burn the stuffing. It's a good thing I wasn't gone longer or you would've burned the turkey."

Derek stayed suspiciously quiet.

She stopped what she was doing and gazed straight into his eyes, "You didn't burn the turkey, did you?" she said almost fearfully, but more angry than anything.

"It didn't look like it was cooking so I turned up the heat a little," Derek was blocking her from the oven.

"Derek, move." She said firmly.

He did and she opened the door and saw the turkey all shriveled up and black. She closed the oven and took deep breaths.

"Remind me never to cook with you again," she said slowly and leaned on the counter trying to control her frustrations.

Derek picked up the phone and said, "Chinese?"

Trying to make the best out of their Christmas, Casey and Derek ordered Chinese food and just sat in front of the TV watching the _Charlie Brown _Christmas special. Casey had finished her little box of chow mein and let out a little burp. "Excuse me," she muttered.

Derek put his empty box down and let out a hefty burp. "Excuse me," he said in amusement.

"That's grose," she stated as she put her legs up on the couch getting comfortable.

It was quiet for a moment between the two before Derek stood up and said, "Present time."

Casey cocked an eyebrow curiously. "Are you serious?" She stood up.

"Well, yeah didn't you get me anything?" He asked as he retrieved a box from under the Christmas tree.

"Actually, no, I was so set on cooking dinner that I,"

"Here," he interrupted her giving her the nicely wrapped box.

She just stared at it.

"Open it!" he said with a grin on his handsome face.

Casey tore the wrapping off and opened the box. It was an exquisite jewelry box with different elaborate designs all over. The top of it had Casey's name carved in old English letters. She opened it and a ballerina popped up while a song played. It was the music of Tchaikovsky's _Sugar plum dance. _She laughed and was obviously pleased. "This is beautiful, Derek, thank you," she said with a smile on her face.

"I'm glad you like it," He said sitting beside her.

She then got up and picked up all the empty boxes of Chinese from the coffee table and walking into the kitchen she said, "I'm sorry I didn't get you anything, I'll have to go shopping next week I guess."

Suddenly her cell phone rang and she answered it, "Hello?"

A few minutes had passed and Casey had been on the phone for quite sometime in the kitchen, so Derek being a curious cat made his way to the kitchen. He leaned against on the doorpost and crossed his arms as Casey hung up the phone and stared at Derek seemingly upset.

"What?" He asked.

"Apparently, my land lord called here a while ago and left a message saying my apartment is ready to move into," Casey crossed her arms.

"Message? I don't remember any messaged," he stated nervously.

"You're lying to me," she said as her blue eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you tell me she called?"

"I… Forgot?" he said as she walked up to him.

"I should've expected this from you, always irresponsible," she said walking passed him. He followed her.

"That's not true, I've been very responsible these past few weeks and you know it," he said.

Casey walked over to the bar where the answering machine was and pressed the play button. The automated voice announced that there were no messages. "What happened to the message, Derek?" She put her hands to her hips.

"I guess I erased it?" he said hesitantly.

"Why would you do something like that?" She asked.

"I don't know why are you freaking out, Case, not like it was that important," he said casually.

"That important? Oh yeah that's mature, just answer the question. Why did you erase my message?" she asked firmly.

"Because," he said in exasperation.

"Because why?" She said louder.

"I didn't want you to leave, okay?!" he said and they stared into each other eyes.

Casey gradually let her hands fall from her waist to her sides. "Derek, why?"

He walked up to her quickly and putting his hands on either side of her, had her trapped. "Do you really have to ask?" He gazed straight into her eyes and without words told her how he felt about her.

She seemed a bit fearful as she stared right back at him speechless.

To her unexpectation, he leaned closer and was a bit hesitant at first, he touched her lips with his gently, yet eagerly all at the same time. Casey gripped onto the barstool as though she were going on a ride of her life. He stepped closer and their bodies touched, Derek still had his hands on either side of her. As he was about to deepen the kiss, she gently pushed him away and their lips parted.

"Derek…" she muttered gazing into his eyes with a bittersweet glint in her eyes.

He turned around- not being able to look at her- he said, "Good-night."

Casey watched him walk into the hallway and as soon as he was gone, touched her lips. She could still feel his lips on hers. _Why? Why him? _She asked herself sorrowfully. _Just admit it, Mcdonald… You fell… Hard… _


	10. I Hate That I Love You

**A/N: After editing the crap out of this chapter, I'm finally putting it up. Sorry it took so long. **

**Please be warned that this chapter is mostly why I rated this fic M. **

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Despite passed events, Casey felt an obligation to buy Derek a late Christmas present. Not only that she really didn't want to be in the same room as him, much less the same apartment. Being the early bird she was, a very befuddled Casey Mcdonald woke up before Derek and went out shopping.

As she walked one of the heavy shopped streets of New York she thought, _If I'm lucky, Derek will just pretend nothing happened and move on. _She turned to see a 'Radio Shack'. _Maybe there's something interesting here. _It took her about five minutes to realize that she didn't want to buy him something he'd just toss aside, so she moved on to another store. She arrived at a clothing store, but then she realized that she didn't even know his size. _God, this really shouldn't be that hard… _Her thoughts trailed as she saw a music store across the street. A coy smile gradually formed on her features as she quickly walked across and into the store.

Derek knew exactly what Casey was doing. Running away, which was something he was used to, but he refused to let it happen again. He sat at his small kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal. All he could really think of was that amazing kiss he shared with Casey on Christmas day. He admitted to himself that he was not only turned on, he felt something inside him come alive… His soul. He never felt that way when he kissed Kendra or any of those other girls he's been with. _Why did it have to be her, though? Our situation is so complicated. Our parents are married and I don't think will accept us. _He thought sadly. For some reason he didn't care. As long as he had her, he would be fine. More than fine, _perfect…_Derek, heard the front door open, then close. He could feel her getting closer, when he looked up, he saw her standing there with a long wrapped box. She was wearing a black long skirt with a single slit on the side that went up to her knee, a lavender button up blouse and her brown suede jacket and boots. Her hair was styled down and straightened, she also wasn't wearing any make-up, but he didn't care, she looked gorgeous either way.

"Here, merry Christmas," she said more nervous than anything. She placed the box flat on the table.

With a mere grin he stood, put his bowl in the sink and walked back over to the table to unwrap his gift. "I wasn't expecting anything, Case," he said as he began to lift the cover off.

"I know, but I wanted to," she said with a smile. She didn't seem that nervous anymore and the awkwardness kind of wore off.

Derek stood there completely speechless. "Oh my god, Casey," he said shocked. There in front of him was a 'Fender' electric guitar with Eric Clapton's autograph on it. In the box was a certificate saying that it was genuine. "This must've cost you a fortune."

"Hey, you're not the only one that makes good money," she said with her hands on her hips. "So you like it then?"

He put the cover back on the box and faced her. "I love it." He wrapped his arms around her in an intimate hug.

She went along, thinking it was innocent until he tried to kiss her. Instinctively she pulled away and said, "No, Derek, we can't…" She walked out of the kitchen and began her way to the guest room as he followed.

"Why can't we?" he asked angrily.

"Isn't it obvious?" she spun around as her voice became louder. "Our parents will never accept it!" She said, her blue eyes lightened in color as she became frustrated. "Not to mention, you're still with Kendra."

Derek, also exasperated, ran a hand through his hair and exclaimed, "Fuck it, Case, I don't care about them. I care about you, okay?"

Those last words made her take a few steps backward. "Excuse me?" she said, hoping she was demented or something.

He walked up to her slowly. "I've been fighting my feelings for you, trying so hard to hate you because it made everything easier in my life." He was now inches away from her. "I can't do this anymore, Case. It's driving me insane."

All she could do was gaze upon him fearful yet curiously.

Once again Derek moved in to touch her lips with his, this time she didn't pull away. It felt like she consented yet was hesitant all at the same time. He slipped his hand onto her waist and pulled her closer so that their bodies were touching.

Casey on the other hand didn't quite know what to do, she let him take her as her arms just dangled loosely on her sides. Suddenly he pressed her against himself harder, that's when she placed her hands on his chest, regaining some air.

He took her jacket off and threw it on the floor as he gently prodded her into the guest room not breaking their passionate kiss. He ran a hand from her neck to the small of her back pulling her even closer and made her feel his very firm manhood.

"Uh," she squealed and her eyes popped open, apparently she wasn't expecting that.

Clumsily, he laid her down on the bed hiking up her skirt, not all the way up… Yet. He slipped off her boots and leggings, leaving her silky smooth limbs naked. He broke the kiss and ran his hands up and down her luscious legs, just taking her in, thinking how perfect she was.

There was a smile forming at the corner of her mouth. "It tickles, Derek."

He grimaced in amusement and stopped. After ravaging her lips for another moment or two, he stopped and got off of her. She gazed at him obviously puzzled.

He crossed his arms and turned his back towards her saying, "You don't know how bad I want this, Casey." He glanced back at her as she propped up on her elbows. "And you know very well that what I want I get." He took a deep thoughtful sigh. "But for once, I actually care about what you want."

"Derek," Casey said almost in a whisper. "Turn around."

He did and she stood up. As she walked towards him, unbuttoned her blouse revealing a black lacy bra. She slipped the shirt off and wrapped her arms around his neck. Their lips glided gently against each other as Derek unclasped her bra, exposing her full chest and hard nipples. He caressed her upper body in the most tender manner, it surprised Casey that he could be so gentle. Laying back down on top of her once again she unbuckled his pants and slid them off along with his boxer, never breaking their untamed kiss. He hiked up her skirt to her hips and pulled off her black lacy thong and without thinking plunged into her core.

"Derek, be gentle," she whispered as she cringed in pain.

"Don't worry, baby," he then kissed her lips assuringly.

He slowly moved out then back in a few times before his motions quickened. All he wanted to do was please her. He was hoping that she felt all the love he was putting into his actions. Caressing her, nibbling at her neck, stroking her legs, being ever so careful with her like she were fragile like glass.

"Uh… god…" She moaned as his thrust became sharper and quicker.

"It's okay, baby, no one can hear you," he said going even faster.

She gripped the comforter of the bed and twisted her wrists as her face contorted with the look of pure ecstasy. "Oh my god, stop," she squealed, the pleasure was too much for her to handle.

He smiled slyly at her and just increased his pace.

"Uhhhh… Derek…" She moaned, which caused him to go even faster.

Their breathing became rapid, as their bodies collided together perfectly, Derek could feel something building up inside him. No, he stopped himself. He wanted to make sure that she was fully satisfied.

Oh, god Casey could feel it building up, like a huge wave crashing onto the shore… It was surfacing… Her toes curled, her back arched, she cocked her head back and gripped the comforter harder. "Ohhh… God!" she screamed as she came to her climax.

"Oh shit," Derek gasped as he came to his climax and pumped his seed into her core. He collapsed next to her both panting and perspiring, both in a daze.

A few minutes passed when suddenly they both heard the front door slam shut followed by the voice of Kendra, "Derry, I'm back from Paris!"

"Shit," Casey stood promptly, quickly grabbed all her clothes off the floor and rushed into the bathroom quietly closing the door behind her.

While she was doing that, Derek scrambled for his clothes and threw them on, he then, as quietly as he could, ran into his room, grabbed a magazine and sat on the bed, pretending to read it.

"Hey Der bear," Kendra walked into the room shortly after.

He stood up and greeted her with a hug and peck on the cheek. "Hey, babe, how was the shoot?" he asked.

"It was great," Kendra looked around the room suspiciously. "Where's Casey?"

"Oh, she's in the guest bathroom taking a shower," he replied casually. "Hey you wanna go out to eat, I'm starving." _Of course your starving, you twit, you just made love with Casey. _He shook the voice out of his head as he walked over to his closet to retrieve a warm coat. He then realized that his zipper was down, _god, I hope she didn't notice that, _he thought as he zipped it up.

"Yeah, I am a little parched from the flight," Kendra said leaning all her weight to one leg. "So, what did you and your step-sister do for Christmas?"

Derek cringed when he heard her say 'step-sister', he shook it off and walked out of his huge walk-in closet with a leather jacket on. "We ordered Chinese." He replied as they exited his room.

"That must've been nice," she commented putting her stylish coat and gloves on.

"Yeah, it was," he replied, thinking of the kiss him and Casey had shared that night.

"So have you been to the studio lately?" Kendra asked curiously.

"No, we're gonna start again a week after New years," Derek answered her.

Casey soon walked out in sweats and a towel wrapped around her head. "What's going on? Oh hey Kendra," she greeted his girlfriend with a smile, but inside she felt guilty. Derek had just cheated on her not too long ago. _Oh god, I'm a slut! _

"We're going out to eat, you wanna join us?" Derek asked.

Casey glanced at Kendra then back at him before replying, "No, it's okay. I think I'm gonna stay home and pack."

"Pack?" he blurted out.

"Pack?" Kendra echoed a bit more enthusiastic than Derek.

"Yeah, repairs on my apartment are done," Casey stated.

"Well, okay," Derek said trying to hide the sadness in his voice. "Will you be here when we get back?"

"I don't know, Derek," She answered, then she turned, walked back into the room and shut the door.

Derek and Kendra stared at each other for a moment, then they made their way to the door and walked out.

_Casey wouldn't leave without talking to me, _He thought as they walked over to the elevator. _Would she?_

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**A/N: I tried to emphasize the fact that they were making love, not just having sex. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! **


	11. Torn

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to update guys! It's hard to write between work and school, you know how it is. Well Enjoy the new addition! Sorry if there are a lot of typo's it's freakin three o' clock in the morning. Don't forget to review or I won't continue.**

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Derek arrived back at his apartment after dinner with Kendra. He admitted that it was kind of messed up to leave Casey like that after what happened between them, but what else was he suppose to do? He didn't know, he kind of just panicked. He heard the dryer going in the laundry room, he walked through the living room and made his way to the small room. There she was leaning against the washer reading a magazine, she didn't look mad.

"So… Can we talk?" he asked cautiously.

She peered up at him, slammed the magazine on top of the dryer and walked passed him.

Okay so he was wrong, she was mad. "Casey, wait…" he followed her. "I know what I did was wrong, but the only reason I did that was to end it."

She stopped in her tracks and gradually faced him. "Are you serious?" she asked seemingly upset about it. "No, Derek, that was stupid!"

"What?" Derek shook his head in bewilderment. _Women are confusing! _He thought in exasperation. "Why was that stupid? I thought I was doing the right thing."

She looked down and fiddled with her thumbs. "Look, I've been thinking and I really need to focus on my ballet right now and you…" She gestured towards him. "You need to focus on recording that ballad."

"Wait, but what about what happened between us? We can't just pretend that didn't happen," he said as he gazed into her eyes, he really couldn't believe she was saying all this.

"Derek, I'm sorry, but I know it just won't work between us," she pursed her lips together and looked as if she were on the brink of tears. "We both live in different worlds."

He shook his head slowly and walked up to her getting inches away from her face. "Why don't you stop making excuses and just tell me you don't want to be with me," he could feel his heart pounding in his chest as she just stared at him in sorrow.

"That's not fair, Derek, it's not that,"

He interrupted her, "Casey, just say it! What's so hard about telling me the truth?!"

"Why are you being like this?" She backed away from him.

He glanced down at his hands and said as a single tear fell from his eye, "If you're going to break my heart just do it already."

Casey froze, she had never seen him cry. "I…" she trailed off.

"goddammit, Case, don't feel sorry for me just be straight up, okay?" he rose his voice as he wiped the tear off his cheek. "I should've expected this from you!"

"What do you mean by that?" she asked placing her hands on her hips.

"You're always over-thinking everything! There hasn't been one day in your life where you said 'you know what? Fuck it,'" he ran his hands through his hair obviously frustrated with her.

"You know that's not who I am, Derek," Casey replied sadly.

He let out a short sigh and said, "Yeah, I know." He turned and began his way to his room.

"Derek," she waited for him to turn around before she continued. "Does this mean we can't be,"

"Don't, Casey… Just don't." He turned back around, but hesitated to walk back into his room. Facing her tearful countenance again he left her with these last words before he walked into his room and closed the door, "As much as I would like to shut you out of my life completely, I can't… So... If you ever need anything, you know who to call."

As Casey made her gradual way back to the guestroom she wiped the tears which escaped her eyes and finished the rest of her packing. She finally put in the last of her clothing and zipped up the suit case. Passing Derek's door she was tempted to knock and say goodbye, but she didn't have the heart to. Yes, she felt terrible about it, but she couldn't handle seeing him in that state again and by that she meant, Derek, on the verge of tears, vulnerable, stuttering his words, pain filled voice, the look of disappointment and heartache upon his handsome features. She took one last look at the apartment as if trying to discern whether or not she was doing the right thing. _It's better this way, _she assured herself and walked out the door without looking back.

She made it to her apartment, all her furniture looked dry. It turns out Delilah was nice enough to attempt to dry off all her furniture, she could still see the water stains on the couch and she was sure she needed a new mattress. She was used to Derek's rock hard guest bed so she decided to bunk on the floor and go mattress shopping the next day. She sat down at her small kitchen table and sighed running her hands through her long hair. It was too quiet, way too quiet… Usually the TV would be on or she could hear Derek strumming on his electric guitar, or Derek arguing with her for no apparent reason. _It's okay Mcdonald, you know you did the right thing. _She thought as she stood up and walked into her bedroom to start unpacking.

As the days passed Casey couldn't help but miss Derek's presence. She would sit on her couch and sip on a mug of hot chocolate thinking about starting ballet classes early because all this spare time was making her insane. There were times where she would just sit at the kitchen counter and stare at her phone just thinking about calling Derek, but could never muster up enough courage. So if she did the right thing then why did she miss him so much?

Derek would never admit it. He was too proud and stubborn. He would never admit that his apartment felt empty and cold. He would never admit that he missed the arguments, the bickering, that annoying classical music she would dance to in the guest room. The place even smelled different without her presence.

"Derek?"

He sat in the studio booth holding his guitar and staring off into nothingness.

"Hello, earth to Venturi!" Max said louder through the microphone.

The rock star snapped out of it. "Huh?"

"I said that's a wrap for today."

"Oh," Derek hopped off the stool and put his guitar away. He really needed to stop thinking about her. He just couldn't help it, he was such a…

"Venturi," Max called from the control room.

Derek turned his attention to his producer.

"Come in here for sec, will you?"

He shouldered his guitar and walked into the control, Max told him to sit down. He did and there was a brief silence before the producer spoke.

"How's Casey?"

"Why do you ask?" Derek crossed his arms suspiciously.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you haven't been here these past few days," Max said upsettedly.

"What're you talking about? I've been here every day," Derek replied.

Max gestured along with his words, "No, I mean you haven't **been **here."

"I know what you mean, Miller," Derek continued. "Casey moved out."

The producer just nodded. "Okay, And?"

"What do you mean 'And'? There's no 'And'."

"Oh, I see…" He paused for a moment. "Look, I know we got into that whole little- let's call it a misunderstanding when I 'dated' Casey for awhile, but I'm passed all that. I fucked up, Venturi. Casey is the most compassionate, kind hearted person I've ever met and I let her go."

"So what you're trying to say is don't fuck up," Derek stated simply.

Max snapped his fingers, "exactly, now go home and get focused for tomorrow. Just a few more days then we can start the editing."

Derek nodded, waved goodbye and walked out. _What if I wasn't the one who fucked up? What if it was her this time?_

Casey had just arrived back at her apartment from her ballet studio. Classes had started a few days ago and she already had to choreograph another dance for her spring recital which was in a few months, but she figured the sooner she worked on it the better. It had already been a two months since she left Derek's apartment, but it felt much longer than that. She sat at the kitchen table looking through her mail. After she had scanned through all her bills and threw away any advertisements she turned on the TV and began to flip through the channels. She stopped at MTV, because she saw Derek on stage performing his new song. The stage was dim, the crowds applause slowly faded as a beautiful guitar melody echoed through the speakers of her TV. She could feel her heart palpitating in her chest as she listened to the lyrics of the beautiful song.

**As I sit on this park bench I can't help but think of you,**

**I tell myself over and over 'no this can't be true'**

**I've had feelings for you buried deep within me,**

**But I know we could never really be,**

Casey began to reminisce as she listened to that verse. He had taken her advise and went out to get inspiration for his song. She could feel something inside her leap up to her throat and she could feel tears surface.

**I watch you walk around my place with such confidence and grace,**

**I sit wanting you more each time I look at your face,**

**You're so beautiful inside and out,**

**And yet you can get on my nerves and make me want to shout,**

She thought about all those times they fought and got on each others nerves. She smiled about it now, even though at the time she was so angry. The shouting, the pointless bickering it all started to make sense.

**I'll never admit it, I won't say it's true,**

**I'll never admit that I'm in love with you,**

**I'll never admit that you're the woman I want,**

**I'll never admit that you're the woman I need,**

At this point Derek was strumming his guitar gently as the lyrics left his mouth with such passion. He was expressing what he was saying perfectly and all Casey wanted to know was… _Is he just putting on a show? Or does he really mean what he's singing?_

**Knowing that I can't have you, just tears me up inside…**

**I'll never admit it, I won't say it's true,**

**I'll never admit that I'm in love with you,**

**I'll never admit that you're the woman I want,**

**I'll never admit that you're the woman I need,**

**So now I'll go on pretending that my feelings aren't there,**

**We're better this way I know, besides I know you don't care,**

**Go on living life while I do the same,**

**Just know that you're perfect, you're the picture to my frame.**

Derek started picking the strings of his guitar making a beautiful melody and then the song ended and Casey was left, sitting there in complete awe. At that moment Casey realized what she had done and she beat herself up for that. She got so worked up over it that she just started cleaning her whole house muttering different things like, "God, Mcdonald, you're so stupid! You fucked up this time." She had let him go and all because she put her career in ballet first and Derek was right, she did over analyze things. So what if their relationship was complicated, being with him would be worth all the trouble in the world, she just hoped it wasn't too late… On a whim she decided to go over Derek's house and talk to him. She didn't quite know what she was going to say and she didn't care. For the first time in her life she wasn't thinking things through and it felt great!

Casey arrived in a cab at Derek's apartment building, she passed by Eduardo's desk greeting him quickly before moving on to the elevator. She reached his floor and rushed out to his apartment door and knocked a few times, there was no reply, nothing. She decided to use the spare key she never gave back to him and let herself in.

"Hello?" She announced as she made her way to the kitchen. "Whoa…" There she saw candles all over the kitchen counter and the dinner table set with his good china.

"Casey, what're you doing here?"

She turned to face Derek well dressed as usual and a puzzled look on his face. "Hey," her mind suddenly went blank and she spent the whole cab ride thinking about what she was going to say to him. "I'm sorry to just barge in like this, but I need to talk to you," she said bluntly.

"Okay," Derek replied casually.

"Are you expecting someone?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, Kendra's coming over," he stated.

Casey's heart sunk into her stomach. "Oh, you're back with her?"

He nodded as he glanced down at his hands.

Just then the voice of his super model girlfriend was heard coming through the front door. "Derry, where you at?"

"In the kitchen," he replied not leaving Casey's gaze.

Kendra walked in and smiled at the setting, then she saw Casey and her smile quickly faded. "Oh, hey Casey, how's it going?"

"I'm good," She replied trying to mask her emotions the best she could.

"That's great," Kendra said cheerfully. "So did you tell her?" the model turned towards Derek.

"No, Kay, now's not the,"

Kendra abruptly interrupted him and said, "We're getting married in three months!" She flashed her three carrot diamond ring at the heart broken Casey.

"Really?" Casey crossed her arms and asked Derek, "And when were you going to tell me this?"

"I was gonna call, Case, I swear," Derek said quietly.

"Right," Casey scoffed. "Well congratulations… To you both, I hope you're both really happy," She said in a bitter cheerful tone and made her way out of the apartment.

"You just had to, didn't you?" Derek said angrily at Kendra and ran after Casey. He caught her at the elevator. "Casey, wait."

She didn't look at him. "You are so full of bullshit you know that?"

"What?"

"I saw your performance on MTV today," She said angrily.

"You did…" he trailed off and run his hands through his hair.

"I just… Didn't think you'd get over it that fast," Casey cursed herself for letting tears escape her eyes.

"Casey," Derek stepped closer and that's when the elevator doors opened.

"It's better this way, I hope you and Kendra are happy together, I really do," she said her voice all raspy and with that she walked into the elevator and the doors closed shut.

Derek heaved a heavy hearted sigh and walked back into his apartment where his soon-to-be wife waited for him. He gazed at Kendra in thought wondering what he was going to do. What Casey had done was so un-like her. The reason to why he had asked Kendra to marry him was because she would fit into his little celebrity world. There would be no problems, no complications… Now he was torn between love and security.


	12. Forget Him, Forever

**A/N: Okay so here's the next chapter. Not as long as all my others but it will just have to do. Something is better than nothing right? Thanks to everyone for all the reviews, I love, love, love, them! Anyway, review more so I'll be inspired to write more.**

**Disclaimer: I own Nothing, obviously...**

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Okay so her little moment of spontaneity was a bad idea. She sat in her apartment on the floor laying her head on the coffee table simultaneously spinning her cell phone on it's glassy surface. Yes, you could say she was moping. _I can't believe I was so stupid. I let him slip right through my fingers and now he's marrying Kendra in three months. _She thought sadly. Suddenly her cell phone rang, she picked it up and heard the soothing voice of her mother.

"Hi, mommy," Casey pouted.

"Casey, sweetie, what's wrong?" Nora asked right away.

"I messed up big time, mom," Casey stated with a sigh. "I had a chance with this guy and I turned him down. Now he's marrying someone else."

Nora responded mournfully, "Oh, Casey, I'm so sorry." She paused for a moment. "Wait who is this guy? Was he at your recital?"

Casey froze. _Shit, do I tell her the truth? I can't lie to my mother, okay maybe I can, but not about this. _"Um… Yeah, he was there," She said timidly.

"Oh my…" Nora trailed off. "It isn't Derek is it?"

"No, why would you think that?" Casey said trying to hide the nervousness in her voice unsuccessfully.

"Casey, I may be computer illiterate but I'm not stupid, I saw it in the way you two looked at each other," Nora said severely.

"You did?"

"Yes, I did," the mom replied.

"So… You're okay with it?" Casey asked hesitantly, she laid down on her hard wood floor and put her feet up on her couch.

"Well… You two are adults now and you never really saw each other as step-siblings I know that for a fact," Nora stated.

"Wait, mom, how do you know that?" Casey asked a befuddled look on her face.

"Casey… Mother's know these things just by observation," Nora said a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Well, why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to start anything, besides I knew you'd see it sooner or later," Nora replied.

Casey groaned in exasperation. "Well, now that I see it." She sighed mournfully. "It seems I'm too late."

"Don't tell me he's marrying,"

The daughter cut her mother off, "Yes, Kendra." She paused for a moment. "In three months."

There was a brief silence before Nora commented, "It's not too late, Case. You wanna know when you're too late?"

"When?"

"You know you're too late when he's married to her," Nora responded.

Casey smiled. She couldn't believe what her mother was telling her. "Are you trying to tell me to,"

Nora interrupted, "Yes, fight for him, Case."

"But he already proposed to her, why would he turn back now?" Casey sat up and began to pace around her living room.

"Why wouldn't he? Most of Derek's actions aren't thought through, what makes you think he thought this one through?" Nora brought up a good point.

"Okay, so I tell him everything and what if when I tell him, he still doesn't want me? I don't think I can take that kind of rejection, mom," Casey said with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Could you really live with yourself if you didn't tell him?"

Damn, another good point. "No," Casey responded meekly. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right," Nora replied.

Casey took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna tell him the truth and not hold back."

"That's my girl!" Nora said motivationally.

The mother and daughter stayed on the phone a few minutes more before Casey bid her mom good-bye and rushed out her apartment door, coat and keys in hand. _Here we go again. _Casey thought as she hopped into a cab and gave the driver Derek's apartment building address. She arrived at his apartment building and casually made her way up to his floor. She began to feel nervous as she neared his door. _God, I feel like I'm gonna vomit. _She hesitantly rang his doorbell. No answer. She rang it once more. Still no answer. So she used the spare key once again and let herself in. She walked up to his room door and knocked. No answer, but she knew he was in there for she could see shadows moving from the crack under the door. She tried to let herself in, but it was locked.

"Derek…" She called out. "Derek, I know you're in there." She saw the shadow stop. "Fine, here goes nothing," she murmured to herself. "Look, I'm sorry to bother you again, but I just can't let this go any longer." The shadow shifted and still he didn't respond. "I'm sorry for what I've done to you," She walked closer to the door and put her hand on it as if trying to feel his heart beat. "I was wrong," she let out a meek chuckle. "Yes, I- Casey Mcdonald- just admitted that I was wrong." She saw the shadow move again, with no answer, not even a grunt. "I guess what I'm trying to say is," _God, I didn't think it would be this hard. _"I do want to be with you, Derek," She saw that he still wasn't going to answer her and that just made her heart break, again. "I guess that's all I came here to say. Pretty stupid huh?" She mused trying to mask her tears of heart ache. "Well, I'm gonna go now before I say, anything else I'm gonna regret," She then left hurriedly.

Finally arriving back at her apartment she picked up her phone with tear filled eyes and dialed her mother's number, but she just got her answering machine. Sniffling she spoke, "Well, mom, I did what you said… And he didn't care… I'm just gonna do what I told you earlier, please, call me back as soon as you can, I love you." She hung up the phone and walked into her room, plopping down on the bed and hugging her pillow as the tears kept flowing from her eyes down her cheeks. _God, Casey suck it up, it's Derek for Christ sake! You should've expected this from him. _She laid on her back and stared up at her ceiling. Just as she was about to fall asleep her doorbell rang. Wondering who that could be Casey took her time to answer the door.

"Hey Case," It was Emily.

Confused yet happy, Casey embraced her friend in a welcoming hug. "Oh my god, Em, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, well your mom called me earlier and said you might need me," Emily replied pulling away from the hug.

Casey smiled. "Well, she was right."

"What's wrong? You look like you've been crying."

"You're gonna wanna sit down for this one, Em," Casey let her in and they both sat down on the re-upholstered couch in the living room. After about an hour or more of explaining the whole situation between herself and Derek, Emily just sat there for a moment taking in everything Casey had just said. Making her brain work in overtime.

"Wow, Casey…" She said finally.

"I know," Casey sighed. "So… What do you think?"

Emily pulled her legs up on the couch and replied, "I think we need to go out, rent some chick flicks and just sit here eating kettle popcorn and hot chocolate."

A smile formed on Casey's lovely face, then it diminished suddenly. "What about your kids and Sheldon?"

"Oh, my mom's watching them and when Sheldon gets home he could watch them. Don't worry, Casey. This is about you," Emily grinned.

And with a nod Casey grimaced back. "You're the best, Emily."

"I know," She replied half-jokingly.

The two women went to the video store and rented a few chick flicks, _The Notebook _being one of them and headed back to Casey's cozy apartment. They prepared some kettle popcorn and hot chocolate and settled down on the couch as the movie _A walk to remember _began. _God this movie is so stupid. People don't change for love. _Casey thought. She hadn't picked this movie, but it was one of Emily's favorites because it reminded her of Sheldon for some reason. It was propably because Sheldon cried the first time he watched it.

"Landon, I'm sick..."

As that part played on Casey said, "What do you think of what I told you earlier?"

"About what?" Emily asked as she watched Jaime say "I do not need a reason to be angry with God."

Casey replied, "The job offer."

"Honestly, Case, I think that's going a little over board, I mean, Why would you quit something you absolutely love?" Emily asked as she chewed on a piece of popcorn.

She shrugged. "I don't know, I just feel like the degrees I've earned are going to waste, that's all."

"You're lying. You just don't want to be reminded of **him**," Emily stated throwing a piece of popcorn at her best friend.

"Hey," Casey wiped it off. "I just think it's time for a change, Em."

Emily sighed, "If you think moving to California is the right thing to do, then I'm behind you one hundred percent."

Smiling, Casey thought, _I do think it's the right thing to do. I'll be away from the pain Derek's caused me. I'll be able to forget him, forever…_


	13. One Last Hurrah

**A/N: Haha! I've updated yet again! Thank you for all your concerns lol, but no I'm not ill. I was laughing my arse off when I read that review. Oh, man, you guys are great! Well, I hope this chapter satisfies your thirst for my story... For now. Muahahahaha! Alright, I'll stop now.**

* * *

Casey was on the other side of the door pouring her heart and soul out to who she thought was Derek. It turned out that Kendra was on the other side of the door listening in amusement to Casey's pathetic little 'I want to be with you' speech. It's a good thing Derek was in the shower or he would've heard her. The super model wasn't about to lose her rock star fiancé to a no-nothing ballet teacher. As soon as Casey said, "Well, I'm gonna go now before I say anything else I'm gonna regret," Derek walked out of the bathroom and asked, "Were you talking to someone?"

"No," Kendra answered quickly. "You must be hearing things," She threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

He stood there in his boxers and white t-shirt simultaneously drying off his hair with his towel. "Oh, okay, well I should get ready, I have to be at rehearsal in two hours."

"Rehearsal?" Kendra looked befuddled for a moment. "Oh yeah, that's right, you're performing next week, you nervous?"

He replied, "Nope." There was a brief silence between the two before Derek stated, "I'm making this my final performance."

She was surprised when he said that. "Really? Why?"

He shrugged. "I can't keep this up forever, Kay and you know that."

"Why not? You could be like the 'Rolling Stones'," She mused. "No but really… You can't quit being a rock star, our whole reputation will be jeopardized."

"How? I'll be an ex-rock star and we'll still be rich," Derek stated with a sheepish sigh.

"I know, but still…" Kendra sighed as if surrendering. "Well… Whatever as long as you don't become a druggy or alcoholic like all these other ex-rock stars."

"Oh don't worry about that, I'm going back to school to get my Bachelors degree," he replied throwing on some pants.

"What!" Kendra exclaimed. "No, no, no, why would you do that? We already have everything we ever wanted and more."

Derek stared blankly at her for a moment, then he expressed annoyance and said, "Why wouldn't I want to do that? I want to better myself, Kay," he walked into his huge closet to pick out a nice dress shirt as Kendra followed.

"But, Derry, what about me?"

"You can go back to school too," Derek said picking out a dark blue and baby blue striped long-sleeved shirt and threw it on.

"DEREK," Kendra said firmly.

"What?" he asked both annoyed and frustrated.

"You are just trying to ruin our whole reputation aren't you?" she said as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that you're only doing this whole marriage thing because of my rep," Derek studied her intently as he finished buttoning up his shirt.

She rolled her eyes and looked away, "No, Derek, I'm not… I love you, I just want a good life for us." She then walked away.

"Right," he murmured. In the back of his mind he couldn't help but to think of that one amazing woman that slipped out of his grasp. He wondered if he should've went after her more instead of giving up so fast. _No, No, Venturi, you're getting married in three months and you're going to be happy. Kendra's safe…_Safe, was that what he really wanted? The old Derek back in high school took risks, that Derek was all about danger and making things so complicated he didn't even know how to fix it. What happened to him? When did he limit himself to Kendra and how did that happen? He just stared at himself in the mirror wondering if he should turn back or keep driving on the road he was on. _It's just probably pre-wedding jitters… _he hoped.

Casey and Emily sat through hours and hours of chick flick after chick flick that they fell asleep right there on the couch. Poor Casey was emotionally drained from the days excitement and Emily was drained from just being with her best friend. The following morning Casey woke up, legs up on the couch and Emily in the kitchen cooking breakfast. It smelled like eggs, bacon and pancakes, delicious. As she stretched her limbs out and rubbed her eyes she walked into the kitchen and sat on her small kitchen table, just to lay her head back down on her crossed arms.

"Oh, stop moping, Case, today is a new day," Emily said cheerfully.

Sitting straight up hesitantly, Casey changed the subject, "I'm going to need your help packing, Em, if I'm gonna be out by next week."

It suddenly became quiet as Emily flipped a cooked pancake onto Casey's plate. She then brought her plate and Casey's over to the table with forks. She then set Casey's food in front of her laying her fork beside the plate and sat down with her food.

"You are totally breaking my diet," Casey said as she sliced into the stack of pancakes with her fork.

"Who cares, you need it," Emily replied taking a bite out of her bacon.

"Thanks again, Em," Casey remarked as she got up to get some orange juice for the both of them.

"Would you stop thanking me, this is what best friends are for," Emily said with a grin.

Casey sat back down. "So are you going to help me?"

Emily took a sip of orange juice from her cup and nodded. "I said I would stand behind you one hundred percent didn't I?"

She smiled. "Tha-"

Emily held up her hand. "Don't say it, Case."

"Sorry," she replied with an amused grimace on her features.

"Are you sure about this decision? I mean, I don't want you regretting anything," Emily said seriously. "Are you sure you want to be a million miles away from your best friend?"

Casey grinned, but there was sorrow in her eyes as she nodded. "I'm sorry, Emily, this is something I have to do."

"So you closed down your studio already?" Emily asked.

"No, not yet, I'm going to call all the students and parents today then I'm gonna terminate my lease for the space I rented," she explained.

Surprised Emily stated, "God, you are serious."

"The company I'm going to work for are providing me with a temporary apartment until I find the one I want, so I don't have to worry about that," Casey said as she poked at her food.

Emily just nodded as she looked down at her half-empty plate. Another silence enveloped the room before Emily stated, "I'm gonna miss you, Casey."

She looked up at her best friend and replied, "I'm gonna miss you too, Em."

They continued to eat their food and talked about other pleasant topics. Casey couldn't help but to think of Derek, even though his name wasn't mentioned once in their conversation, she still thought of him and it killed her. Everything reminded her of him and that was why she wanted to leave New York. At the same time she couldn't help but doubt her decision.

As the days passed, Derek prepared for his last performance by working hard and going to his rehearsals, while Casey and Emily worked hard at packing up the apartment. By complete coincidence Casey found out she was flying out the same day that Derek was performing.

A few days before the rock stars last concert an unexpected surprise came upon him at rehearsal. As he came to the end of his ballad the microphone turned off on him.

"What the hell?" he said angrily as he stopped playing his guitar. "Can someone get on that pronto?" he said firmly. No one answered and that's when he became annoyed and stood to walk back stage. "Oh my god, dudes!"

There stood Sam and Ralph, his old band mates with crafty expressions on their faces. Sam still looked the same, he just grew out a go-tee and Ralph was still clean shaven like always.

"Dude!" Sam exclaimed.

"Dude!" Ralph echoed him and the three men gave each other masculine hand shakes and hugs.

"God, how long has it been?" Derek asked.

"Too long, D," Sam replied.

"What are you guys doing here?" Derek asked the ex-rock stars.

Ralph answered, "We're here for the concert." He put on his old black leather gloves and pulled out his drum sticks.

"No, way are you guys serious?" Derek said in disbelief.

"As a heart attack," Sam replied.

"How'd you guys get away from your wives?" Derek asked curiously.

"We told them you were retiring and they suggested that we come to New York and surprise you," Ralph replied. He had that same cute yet dopey grin on his features that he's had since high school.

"Sweet," Derek stated. "One last hurrah for D-rock."

"Yeah, let's do this!" Ralph said with much enthusiasm, he then ran out to the stage and sat at the drum set that was set up in the middle of the stage.

Derek ran out after Ralph after saying, "You coming, Sam?"

Sam was the last one to run onto the stage and put on his bass guitar.

It was just like the old days. Derek began to have flash backs to when they were all in high school. Playing at school dances was how they started, then they began to do birthday parties and bar mitzvah's and it all took off from there. The re-united band played their old songs and some of Derek's new ones, then they all went back to Derek's apartment to catch up.

The three walked into Derek's apartment and the first thing Ralph said was, "Dude, this is nice."

"Eh, it's okay," Derek replied nonchalantly.

"Same ol' Derek," Sam muttered as he checked out the place. "So where's your fiancée?"

The lead singer had almost forgotten that he was engaged. "Oh you mean Case- I mean, Kendra."

Ralph had to double take that one. "What?!"

"You were gonna say Casey weren't you?" Sam taunted him in amusement.

The drum player just laughed.

"No, I don't know what you guys are talking about," Derek replied plopping down on the couch, turning on the TV.

Sam sat next to him. "Dude, you are totally lying right now."

Ralph sat at the bar. "Yeah, sorry, D, but you just gave yourself away with that little slip of the tongue."

"You guys are crazy," Derek said shrugging it off.

"No, you are," Sam paused. "For Casey."

Ralph chuckled lightly.

"We're not in high school anymore you guys," Derek stated.

"Why deny the obvious, D?" Sam stated more than asked.

"Yeah, dude, just come clean already, there's no use in hiding this from us when we're just gonna find out later," Ralph added.

"Alright if I tell you goofballs will you leave me alone about it?" Derek asked in pure exasperation.

"YES," They said in unison.

"It's true okay? I'm in love with Casey, okay? There I said it," Derek blurted out.

Sam and Ralph glanced at each other with puzzled expressions, then back at Derek.

"Okay, so why are you marrying Kendra?" Ralph asked his face twisted with bewilderment.

"Casey doesn't want to be with me," Derek replied bluntly almost angrily.

"How do you know that?" Sam asked.

"Cuz she told me she doesn't want to be with me," the lead singer answered quickly. "Now can we please refrain from the subject?"

"Yeah," replied Ralph.

"For now," Sam put in.

Meanwhile as Casey and Emily packed up the rest of the things, the phone rang. Casey quickly stood up to answer it and heard the voice of her mom.

"Hey sweetie, I'm so sorry I haven't called you back I've just been so busy lately. Are you okay?" Nora managed to say all that in one breath.

Casey gave a timid laugh and replied, "I'm okay, mom. Oh and by the way, thanks for sending Emily over."

"Oh, no problem, honey."

There was silence between the two before Casey said, "I'm well, me and Emily are packing right now."

"So it's for sure then," Nora stated more than asked. "You're moving to California."

"Yeah, I am," Casey said, sorrow filled her voice.

"Oh," Nora mumbled. "Well, I guess this is for the best, right Casey?"

"Yeah," Casey assured her mom.

"Okay," Nora said quietly. "So how's the packing coming along?"

Casey replied as she walked back into her room. "Great we're almost done."

Emily gave her a funny look and hinted towards the half full closet and her drawers which were also full of clothes.

Casey hushed her and gestured her to keep packing as she also continued to pack a suit case with her shoes.

Emily rolled her eyes and proceeded with the packing of Casey's pajamas and socks.

"I'm sorry I'm not there, Case," Nora said sincerely.

"Don't apologize, mom, as long as I can hear your voice I'll be fine," The daughter responded kindly.

"Thanks, for giving me a chance to actually be there for you," Nora stated. "I love you,"

"I love you too, mom," a grin formed on Casey's countenance. "Well, I better get back to packing, Emily's starting to get impatient with me."

Her best friend gasped and threw a pair of rolled up socks at Casey. "I am not," she said quite appalled.

Casey laughed. "Alright, mom bye." She hung up the phone and Emily just sneered at her. "What?" she asked innocently.

"Don't ever use me as an excuse to get off the phone with your mother again," Emily warned her.

Casey let out another chuckle and just continued packing.

Soon the day of the concert finally came and to Derek's surprise he was nervous. He figured it was because this was the last time he would ever be on stage and he wanted it to be the best performance he's ever given.

Meanwhile Casey stood in her empty apartment taking everything in. She heaved a sigh and thought, _well this is it, I'm leaving New York for good. _Just as she grabbed her purse off the counter her cell phone rang. She flipped it open and put it to her ear.

"Hello."

"Hey, Case, it's Emily, I just wanted to say have a safe flight and call me when you get there," he voice was beginning to crack a little.

Casey smiled and said, "don't start crying, Em, you're gonna make me cry."

"I'm sorry it's just…" she paused. "I'm gonna really miss you."

"I know, Em, I know, you can come visit me any time," Casey stated.

"Mmkay," Emily said sadly. "Well, I'll let you go now."

"Alright, I'll call you when I get there," Casey hung up and took a glance at her apartment once more, turned around and walked out not looking back. Her old Counselor, Paul Creepy, used to say that if you look back at something you turned your back on, then you weren't really sure about your decision and she was one hundred percent sure about this decision.

Derek, Sam and Ralph were preparing back stage, jumping up and down getting pumped for their big performance. Their opening band was playing at the moment and they could hear the roar of the crowd going crazy. As Derek paced back and forth he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, _shit, I forgot to leave this in the dressing room. _He took a peek at the caller ID and was surprised it was Nora. He walked into his dressing and closed the door drowning out the cries of the crowd.

"Hello? Nora?" Derek greeted her worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

She replied, "I couldn't help myself from meddling again, but I know what's going on between you and Casey."

"Don't even worry about it, Casey doesn't even wanna be with me so it's okay," Derek replied casually.

"What?" Nora paused. "Yes, she does, Derek. She went over to your apartment the other day and poured out her feelings for you, she told me that you're the one who didn't want to be with her."

"Kendra," Derek scoffed angrily. "That's not true, Nora, I do."

"Oh, no," Nora said in complete dread. "I probably should've called you earlier then."

"What's wrong?"

"Casey's moving away to California, she quit ballet and closed down her studio, Derek," she replied hastily. "She's on her way to the airport as we speak."

"Shit," Derek exclaimed.

"I know!" Nora said nervously. "What're you gonna do?"

"I don't know, I'm about to go out on stage right now," he paused and heard that the opening band stopped playing. "I gotta go, Nora, but don't worry I think I have a plan."

"Alright, good luck," and with that Derek hung up and rushed out of the dressing room up to Sam and Ralph. He whispered something in their ears as the announcer said, "And now we present to you the last performance of Derek Venturi and his band mates Sam and Ralph. Please put your hand together for D'rock!" The crowd went wild as Derek, Sam and Ralph ran out on to the stage and performed their first song.

Casey was still in the cab on her way to the airport with a blank expression on her face. She glanced at the time on her cell phone it was; 6:36 PM and her flight was at 7:30. _This guy better speed it up… _She thought very much annoyed by the way he was driving. For once in her life she wished she had gotten one of those crazy taxi drivers instead of driving miss daisy here. She sighed and just let the matter go.

Derek was already singing the last song of the concert, his love ballad. He kept thinking, _I hope it's not too late, please don't let it be too late. _Finally the song ended and he made a quick statement to his fans before running off the stage with his body guard Bruno close behind.

"Go get her, D," Sam exclaimed.

The rock star hopped into the nearest limo along with Bruno and told the driver, "I'll give you an extra thousand dollars if you take me to the New York airport as fast as you can."

"You got it, mister Venturi," the driver tipped his black hat and stepped on the gas.

When Derek told the driver to go as fast as he could he meant, go as fast as he could safely, because this limo driver was crazy! He was weaving in and out of traffic with a limousine and was scaring Derek half to death. _Please let me at least make it to the airport, God, _he prayed as he and Bruno swayed violently side to side in the back of the limo. His heavy set body guard landed on the poor rock star a few times and Derek knew he would feel that in the morning. Finally after a horrifying limo ride, they arrived in front of the airport and Derek quickly exited the car and ran in with Bruno trying to keep up.

"FLIGHT 297 FOR LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA, DEPARTURE IN 2 MINUTES," Derek suddenly heard and he ran as fast as he could to the gate. He could see the plane in the window preparing to take off. _Shit, shit, shit… _he cursed himself for not being in better shape. Just as he got to the gate, the stewardess had closed the door.

"No, Wait!" he exclaimed, but she was already boarding the plane. All Derek could do was watch the plane take flight. "Casey," he murmured.

Bruno finally caught up, out of breath, panting and falling to one knee. "Did we make it?" He managed to get out in a wheeze.

Derek ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair in frustration and said, "No, we didn't…" He kept watching the plane until it disappeared from his sight.


	14. FINE

**A/N: Okay so this is the final Chapter, I felt like I should end it like this and not drag it on. If it needs revision, I'd be more than happy to revise it. I kinda rushed this chapter as you can tell by how short it is. Oh well... I hope you all like it!**

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Derek didn't know what to do, he looked back at Bruno and the body guard had this look on his face. As if he were saying, "Go after her." Derek nodded and ran back to the limo and hopped in with Bruno.

"Take me to my private jet, pronto!" He said to the driver.

The driver nodded and began to pull out, but stopped abruptly. "What do you think you're doing?!" he screamed out.

"God, are you kidding me?" Derek exclaimed in frustration and looked out through the front wind shield to see who was blocking the limousine. His facial expression contorted with pure surprise as he stepped out of the car gradually and made his way up to the front of the vehicle.

There she stood with a timid grin on her beautiful features. She moved onto the sidewalk confronting Derek. "Hey," she said.

"Casey," he smirked. "How,"

"My mom," she interrupted.

Just as she was about to say something else, he quickly pulled her close and pressed his lips against hers. She was surprised at first but after a second she returned the kiss. He finally pulled away and said, "I love you, Casey and yes I do want to be with you."

"But you never replied that day I came over and told you how I felt," she said a bit indignantly.

"I was probably in the shower and that was probably Kendra you were talking to," he said.

"What are you gonna do about her?" she asked curiously.

"What do you think?" he said sarcastically.

She smiled and threw her arms around him embracing him tightly.

A few weeks had passed, within those weeks Derek and Casey had moved in together. Casey was still trying to find a space where she could open up another studio, but she wasn't having any luck with that until one day…

Derek hadn't told her where they were going he just told her to get in the limousine. On the way to where ever they were going, Derek had his famous trade mark smirk on his face.

"You're not gonna tell me where we're going so I'm not even gonna ask," she said resting her elbow on the arm rest.

He just stayed quiet.

"Dammit, Derek you know I hate surprises," she said completely flustered.

Suddenly the limo came to a stop and the ex-rock star gestured for her to look out his window. There she saw a modern building connected to other buildings of the same style. The streets were fairly busy with people coming to and from their destinations.

"Derek, are you serious?" Casey beamed and climbed over him to get out.

"Very," he replied stepping out after her. "You wanna go check out your new studio?"

Casey excitedly walked through the transparent glass doors and was in awe. This space was a lot bigger than her previous one. There were mirrors on the back wall like before with barre's on the wall, but this time she had a fancy desk and a little room where the parents could sit and watch their children. She was so happy that it brought tears to her eyes.

"So, I'm guessing you like it," Derek smiled.

"I love it, Derek," she walked up to him and gave him a hug and soft kiss.

He stopped and looked over at the desk, "hey what's that?"

She turned around and saw a medium sized box on the oak service of the desk. Pink and nicely wrapped with a ribbon tied around it. She glanced at Derek then back at the box.

"It must be a 'welcome to the neighborhood' present," Derek said half-jokingly.

"Don't be ridiculous," Casey unwrapped the box only to find another box, so she unwrapped that box and found another smaller box, then finally she disclosed a little black box and gasped. "Oh my god…" she opened it and there shined a platinum 3 carrot diamond solitaire ring.

Derek took the box from the stunned Casey and said, "I'm not really good at this sort of thing, but…" he got down on one knee clumsily. "Casey Mcdonald, you have been the most infuriating person in my life and I love you. Marry me, make me the happiest ex-rock star in New York."

She smiled in amusement and prompted him to stand up so she wasn't looking down at him. "I'm gonna have to think about that one," she said trying to hide a sly smile. "Of course, I'll marry you, Derek Venturi!" She threw her arms around him and kissed him. He slipped the ring onto her ring finger and enveloped her in a tight embrace.

"I love you, Casey," he whispered into her ear.

"I love you too, Derek," she whispered back.

FINE

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**From Arrogant To Heir Apparent(LWD)**

**Derek Venturi has always had an obsession for video games especially the poplular RPG 'Babe Raider', whereas Casey Mcdonald has never had a fancy for it. A Gamers convention comes to town, so of course Derek just has to go and will do anything to go, even if it means having to drag Casey along for some 'quality' step-sibling time. At the convention one of the 'coming soon' games catches his eye. A booth in the corner of the large convention center. The game was called "Heir Apparent" and it was an RPG. Derek talks Casey into playing the 3D RPG with him but something unexpected happens. They both get mysteriously sucked into the medievel game. Derek and Casey find themselves battling the elements, getting captured and finding out that Derek is the Crown Prince to the thrown of that land they're in. But if Derek is the Heir to the thrown then what does that make Casey? Will this experience bring the two closer together in more ways than one? Find out in _From Arrogant To Heir Apparent_**

**_Coming to Fanfiction Soon!_**

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**A/N: Just a little sneak peak of my upcoming story, tell me what you think of the idea. It was a pleasure writing this story for you all! Thanks to all the reviewers and readers, I love you all! **


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